Most teachers enter the profession for the same reason—they love teaching, connecting and witnessing that spark when learning clicks. As a classroom teacher, my heart would sing when the room hummed with energy—students collaborating, questioning and engaging with each other and their learning.
In those moments, I felt most successful, witnessing active engagement in action and watching students truly soar.
The “2025 Global Teacher Insights Report,” commissioned by Vivi and conducted by FullScale, echoes that sentiment: 85% of educators worldwide say strong teacher–student relationships are the single most important factor in academic success—for both teachers and students.
In a year dominated by technology and AI headlines, this study refocuses attention on what matters most: human connections.
What teachers say defines their success
The “2025 Global Teacher Insights Report” makes one thing clear: teacher success is relational. Beyond the 85% of educators who cite strong relationships as their top success factor, 63% link success to seeing clear student progress, and 64% say those relationships help them feel more connected to their school community.
For leaders, the takeaway is simple but profound—create structures to help teachers feel supported, connected and confident enough to innovate. When educators feel seen, celebrated and safe to take instructional risks, they’re far more likely to embrace new approaches and technology to drive meaningful student growth.
Role of technology: Support, don’t supplant
Technology is most powerful when it amplifies what great teachers already do best—connect, engage and guide learning. When used intentionally, it frees educators to focus on relationships, not replace them.
The teachers in this year’s report consistently emphasized that tools and systems should support their work, not add layers of complexity or stress.
For school and district leaders, that means choosing and implementing technology that empowers rather than overwhelms. Whether exploring AI or leveraging the screens and devices already in classrooms, the goal is the same: enhance connection, collaboration and instructional flow.
Well-designed platforms can help make every classroom a space for active engagement and shared ownership of learning—elevating, not interrupting, the moments that matter most.
Indicators of teacher success
The data reveal a clear pattern: teachers who feel most successful are deliberate about how they connect, collaborate and manage their classrooms. According to the “2025 Global Teacher Insights Report,” 72% dedicate intentional time to building relationships and engagement, while 42% point to effective classroom management tools and strategies as essential to their success.
These findings underscore that teacher confidence grows when classrooms run smoothly and students are active participants in their own learning. For leaders, the message is simple—equip teachers with the systems, professional learning and collaboration opportunities that make success feel possible every day.
When technology, teamwork and trust align, confidence follows.
How school leaders can help teachers thrive
These insights point to four clear actions leaders can take to strengthen teacher success and retention:
- Encourage and support connection. Build time and structures for teachers to connect with students and each other. Success begins with relationships—protect that space in schedules, PD and culture.
- Nurture community. Teachers thrive when they feel part of something larger. Foster moments of celebration, peer collaboration and shared purpose across grade levels and schools.
- Empower engagement. Prioritize tools, strategies and professional learning that make classrooms active, collaborative and student-centered.
- Lead systemically. Use these drivers—connection, community, engagement and confidence—to guide technology, staffing and PD decisions so innovation feels supported, not stacked on.
When leaders create the conditions for connection, collaboration and confidence, teachers can focus on what they entered the profession to do: help students succeed.
Moving forward
As we all know, when things get challenging, it’s the people around you who keep you going—the ones who remind you why the work matters and you lean on to feel successful. Education is no different.
As one teacher shared, “Feeling part of a supportive school community makes all the difference—it’s what keeps me going when things get hard.”
In teaching, those connections run both ways.“When students know I see them, they try harder—and so do I.”
