After a year of hard graft, the certificate arrives in the post: this trainee is qualified to teach. With a job secured at his dream school, nothing can stop him now. 

Nothing, that is, apart from the lurking sense that he doesn’t belong. That he’s not good enough for the school. That it’s only a matter of time before he is exposed as useless.

At the same school, a middle leader is promoted to senior leadership. Shaking her hand warmly, the headteacher congratulates her on an outstanding interview. Despite this, her relief at getting the job is tainted by a deep fear that she is out of her depth and that her ineptitude will soon be discovered.   

In both of these examples, the teacher is suffering from what is commonly known as “impostor syndrome”: feelings of inadequacy that persist, despite evidence of success.

It is something that you might have experienced yourself - and if you have, you are not alone. Research suggests that, as a profession, education may be particularly prone to impostor syndrome, with incidence rates higher than for the general population. 

One 2018 UK survey, for example, found that 62 per cent of teachers had experienced impostor syndrome in the previous 12 months.

Evidence suggests that impostor syndrome negatively affects teachers’ wellbeing and motivation, with potentially disastrous effects for staff retention. That makes it an issue that should be on all school leaders’ radars.

So, what is it that makes teachers so vulnerable to impostor syndrome? And what can schools do to help staff who might be struggling with it?

What is impostor syndrome?

Impostor syndrome was first identified by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978. It has since been characterised by researcher Jasmine Vergauwe as “the intense feelings of intellectual and professional fraudulence, experienced by high-achieving individuals”. 

In a 2015 research paper, Vergauwe explains how “despite the accumulation of objective evidence suggesting the contrary…these persons are unable to internalise and accept successful experiences”.    

Put simply, impostor syndrome involves a competent person viewing themselves as incompetent, and feeling fraudulent as a result.

Of course, occasional self-doubt is perfectly normal, but these feelings usually pass as we gain confidence and experience success. 

For those experiencing impostor syndrome, however, the self-doubt never really goes away. As Clance noted in 1985, these insidious feelings of fraudulence persist despite outwardly impressive accomplishments. 

How, then, do we distinguish between those general feelings of self-doubt, and something more serious? 

Researchers agree that there are certain experiences associated with impostor syndrome. These include:

• Feeling out of place in work environments, despite qualifications and achievements.
• Expecting to be exposed as a fraud at some point.
• Struggling to internalise your successes and external status.
• Believing that accomplishments are down to luck or personal traits rather than ability.
• Thinking that others overestimate your capabilities.
• Comparing yourself unfavourably to others frequently.
• Overgeneralising based on isolated incidents.

For people having these experiences, there can be multiple negative effects. Impostor syndrome has been associated with stress, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. Crucially, people feeling like impostors have a lower perception of control over their lives, meaning they respond more negatively to failure than “non-impostors”. In turn, this can lead to decreased motivation, lower job satisfaction and, ultimately, burnout.  

Impostor syndrome in education

Prevalence figures vary but research indicates that impostor syndrome is commonly experienced by adults across the globe. Evidence from the US has found that education produces an incidence rate higher than for the general population. It’s been suggested by some researchers that “the demanding nature of the profession” leaves teachers particularly susceptible to impostor feelings, which often go unrecognised by colleagues.

There is also evidence that impostor feelings may be especially rife among trainee teachers. A 2022 study by Matthew LaPalme and colleagues found that 93 per cent of trainee teachers experience moderate levels of impostor syndrome, while 54 per cent have frequent or severe levels of impostor thoughts.

The researchers note that trainees moving into teaching “face substantial hurdles to success”, such as “high emotional demands, work overload, and classroom management difficulty”. 

Other research finds that trainee teachers are “particularly vulnerable” to impostor syndrome because they struggle to “internalise positive feedback” and “disregard the accolades they receive”.   

Having a mentor increases the likelihood of people accepting their accomplishments

But while trainees may be most susceptible to impostor syndrome, it would be a mistake to assume that more experienced teachers are immune to it. 

One 2024 study found that impostor syndrome was prevalent among primary-school teachers in the Philippines with “diverse teaching experience”, including those with “extensive decades-long experience in the field”. 

Furthermore, research from the US found that principals and assistant principals from a range of demographic groups experienced thoughts and feelings associated with impostor syndrome. 

Even for objectively successful people working in senior roles, impostor syndrome can be a barrier to career development, then. High-achieving teachers may gain promotions in school yet never meet their true professional potential as a result of the internal “glass ceiling” that impostor syndrome constructs. 

Tackling this pervasive and complex phenomenon isn’t a straightforward task, but if you’re struggling with fraudulent feelings, or want to support colleagues who are experiencing impostor syndrome, there are practical steps that can stem the constant trickle of self-doubt.

Beating impostor syndrome: advice for teachers

According to researcher Stella Lacia, people who perceive impostor syndrome as a challenge to overcome “are more likely to use proactive strategies for dealing with it, which often leads to positive outcomes”. Those who view it “as a barrier or a threat”, on the other hand, tend to experience more negative consequences and are “more inclined to use avoidance coping mechanisms”, such as procrastination or overworking.

Reframing your view of impostor feelings may, therefore, be the first step towards beating them. And in terms of proactive strategies that individuals can try, the research literature offers some suggestions.

1. Highlight the things you do well

In their book Beating the Impostor Syndrome, Portia Mount and Susan Tardanico advise setting a five-minute timer and writing down 10 things they do well in a specific area. For teachers, this might include topics of expertise, areas of pedagogical strength, or qualities of effective line management. 

If you are struggling with impostor feelings, you may find listing your achievements difficult. But by committing your positive qualities to paper, you’re taking the first step towards muffling the voice that says you only succeeded due to luck or overpreparation.

A similar activity to overcome feelings of inadequacy, as advocated by Judy Robertson in her book EqualBITE: gender equality in higher education, is to record three workplace successes each day in an achievement journal.

As Robertson argues, “Failure to acknowledge your own success is self-defeating. It can be very valuable to learn to take the time to acknowledge your success and consider what skills led to it so that you can build on this for the future”.

2. Reframe self-critical thoughts

Those with impostor syndrome can tend towards catastrophising and overgeneralising, especially after they’ve made a few mistakes. When these thoughts of inadequacy strike, you should challenge them by thinking of exceptions to the generalisation. 

For example, you might reframe the thought “I’m useless at teaching punctuation” as “I’m really good at apostrophes but need to develop my explanations on how to use semicolons”. 

“I’m terrible at dealing with parental complaints”, meanwhile, might become “I’m comfortable dealing with face-to-face complaints but need to script some more effective responses to parents who become aggressive on the phone”.

3. Seek out a mentor

In a 2020 paper, researcher Jill Barr-Walker and colleagues found that mentoring was “consistently reported as a successful strategy for addressing impostor syndrome”. They found that having a mentor increased the likelihood of people accepting their accomplishments, being reassured that impostor feelings were normal and avoiding unrealistic comparison with others.

Although mentoring is common in schools for new teachers, any member of staff can benefit from establishing a mentor relationship with a more experienced colleague. 

Over time, mentees should eventually find that they are themselves in a position to mentor colleagues struggling with fraudulent thoughts. Indeed, researchers have outlined how having a mentee helps lessen mentors’ own feelings of inadequacy - meaning that the mentor relationship can be symbiotic. 

How schools can support staff

Alongside these individual strategies, there are also steps that schools and trusts can take to create a culture that discourages impostor syndrome. Establishing this protective culture may be particularly important in schools that have a high number of teachers who are new to the profession. 

Department for Education workforce figures for 2024 show that 11 per cent of new teachers left the profession after just one year, and 42 per cent were no longer teaching five years in. Impostor syndrome is, according to LaPalme, “an important, understudied and malleable factor” that contributes to these stark drop-out rates. 

By supporting new teachers who are struggling with impostor syndrome, schools could help to boost their retention rates and improve student outcomes. The following strategies may help with this.

1. Ensure new teachers receive effective behaviour training

LaPalme’s research identifies poor student behaviour as a key contributor to impostor syndrome, with early-career teachers reporting “lower self-efficacy in their classroom management skills”, which, in turn, makes them more likely to walk away from the profession. 

Where schools fail to provide clear and consistent behaviour support for new teachers, their classroom confidence tanks and impostor feelings flourish. If your school has a “sink or swim” approach to behaviour, chances are this will prompt your new teachers to try another profession. 

Make upskilling everyone in behaviour management a key professional development priority, and ensure this is backed up by a structured whole-school support system.

2. Reduce the stigma around impostor feelings through supportive line management

In a 2021 study, Adam Pervez found that employees experiencing impostor syndrome had fewer mental-health issues when they felt acknowledged, listened to and guided by their managers. 

Similarly, in a 2019 paper, Dena Bravata and colleagues found that a supportive work environment decreases the stigma associated with impostor syndrome and minimises its effects. 

Make upskilling everyone in behaviour management a key professional development priority

As such, leaders should ensure line managers are aware of how they can help support colleagues experiencing impostor thoughts. This might be as simple as encouraging them to open up discussion around the issue with their reports, and making them aware of strategies that individuals can use to manage their feelings, like those described above.

3. Provide support for women in male-dominated roles

There is some debate in the research literature about whether women are more likely to experience impostor syndrome than men. A recent study concluded that men and women are equally susceptible, yet the researchers also acknowledged that impostor syndrome is more likely to occur for women in contexts where they are less well-represented, such as STEM careers. 

Indeed, another recent study argues that in these male-dominated disciplines, “women may internalise gendered stereotypes and perceive themselves as less competent” as a result. 

This suggests that schools would be well advised to keep a particular eye out for female staff in departments that are male-dominated, or for female leaders who are part of majority-male leadership teams.

Given the high rates of impostor syndrome among teachers, and the damaging effects it can have on the whole workforce, we need to explore interventions that can mitigate the harmful effects of feeling fraudulent. In doing so, we’ll not only improve the wellbeing of these individuals; we’ll also help to retain more teachers and perhaps boost student attainment as a result.

Mark Roberts is an English teacher and director of research at Carrickfergus Grammar School. His new book, Fail Better: how teachers can help students overcome failure, perfectionism, procrastination, impostor syndrome and test anxiety, will be published in January 2026