High School Teachers' Experiences of Consumer Technologies for Stress Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Stress in education is an adverse reaction that teachers have to excessive pressures or other types of demands placed on them. Consumer digital technologies are already being used by teachers for stress management, albeit not in a systematic way. Understanding teachers' experiences and the long-term use of technologies to support stress self-management in the educational context is essential for meaningful insight into the value, opportunity, and benefits of use.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was first to understand teachers' experiences of consumer technologies for stress management. They were chosen by teachers from a taxonomy tailored to their stress management. The second aim was to explore whether their experiences of use evolved over time as teachers transitioned from working at home during lockdown to working full time on school premises.

METHODS

A longitudinal study intended for 6 weeks in the summer term (2020) was extended because of COVID-19 into the autumn term, lasting up to 27 weeks. Teachers chose to use a Withings smartwatch or the Wysa, Daylio, or Teacher Tapp apps. In total, 2 semistructured interviews and web-based surveys were conducted with 8 teachers in South London in the summer term, and 6 (75%) of them took part in a third interview in the autumn term. The interviews were analyzed by creating case studies and conducting cross-case analysis.

RESULTS

The teachers described that the data captured or shared by the technology powerfully illustrated the physical and psychosocial toll of their work. This insight gave teachers permission to destress and self-care. The social-emotional confidence generated also led to empathy toward colleagues, and a virtuous cycle of knowledge, self-compassion, permission, and stress management action was demonstrated. Although the COVID-19 pandemic added a new source of stress, it also meant that teachers' stress management experiences could be contrasted between working from home and then back in school. More intentional self-care was demonstrated when back in school, sometimes without the need to refer to the data or technology.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study demonstrate that taking a situated approach to understand the real-world, existential significance and value of data generates contextually informed insights. Where a strategic personal choice of consumer technology is enabled for high school heads of year, the data generated are perceived as holistic, with personal and professional salience, and are motivational in the educational context. Technology adoption was aided by the pandemic conditions of home working, and this flexibility would otherwise need workplace facilitation. These findings add to the value proposition of technologies for individual stress management and workforce health outcomes pertinent to educators, policy makers, and designers.

Stress, Burnout, Anxiety and Depression among Teachers: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Worldwide, stress and burnout continue to be a problem among teachers, leading to anxiety and depression. Burnout may adversely affect teachers' health and is a risk factor for poor physical and mental well-being. Determining the prevalence and correlates of stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression among teachers is essential for addressing this public health concern.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the extent of the current literature on the prevalence and correlates of stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression among teachers.

METHOD

This scoping review was performed using the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews). Relevant search terms were used to determine the prevalence and correlates of teachers' stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression. Articles were identified using MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), EMBASE (Excerpta Medica Data Base), APA PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature), Scopus Elsevier and ERIC (Education Resources Information Center). The articles were extracted, reviewed, collated, and thematically analyzed, and the results were summarized and reported.

RESULTS

When only clinically meaningful (moderate to severe) psychological conditions among teachers were considered, the prevalence of burnout ranged from 25.12% to 74%, stress ranged from 8.3% to 87.1%, anxiety ranged from 38% to 41.2% and depression ranged from 4% to 77%. The correlates of stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression identified in this review include socio-demographic factors such as sex, age, marital status, and school (organizational) and work-related factors including the years of teaching, class size, job satisfaction, and the subject taught.

CONCLUSION

Teaching is challenging and yet one of the most rewarding professions, but several factors correlate with stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression among teachers. Highlighting these factors is the first step in recognizing the magnitude of the issues encountered by those in the teaching profession. Implementation of a school-based awareness and intervention program is crucial to resolve the early signs of teacher stress and burnout to avoid future deterioration.

Personality Characteristics, Job Stressors, and Job Satisfaction: Main and Interaction Effects on Psychological and Physical Health Conditions of Italian Schoolteachers

The study proposed an application of the transactional model of stress in teaching elaborated by Travers and Cooper in 1996, and aimed to investigate the influence of personality characteristics (coping strategies, type A behaviors), situational characteristics (sources of pressure), and perceived job satisfaction in the prediction of teachers' psychophysical health conditions. The Italian version of the Teacher Stress Questionnaire was administered to 621 teachers. Logistic regression was used to evaluate significant main and interaction effects of personality characteristics, situational characteristics, and perceived job satisfaction on teachers' self-reported psychophysical health conditions. The findings highlighted specific coping strategies (focused on the problem, on innovation, and on hobbies and pastimes) and dimensions of job satisfaction (related to intrinsic aspects of job and to employee relations) buffering the negative effects of several job stressors. Type A behaviors and coping strategies focused on mobilized social support, suppression of stress, and not confronting the situation had main and interactions with negative effects on psychophysical health. Findings confirmed the necessity to run multi-factor research to analyze the different combinations of individual and situational variables implicated in negative health outcomes and to highlight the most significant buffering or increasing associations.

The Socio-Emotional Guidance Questionnaire (SEG-Q)

Since facilitating the fullest development of each student in terms of enriching their intellectual development as well as their personal, social, and emotional development has become an important objective, social and emotional guidance has become an integral part of education. This recent acknowledgment has stimulated research interest into how to measure, evaluate, and optimize guidance activities in schools. This interest, however, is contingent on a valid assessment of integrated socioemotional guidance, which despite the growing attention still remains a problem. This study therefore aims to investigate the validity and generalizability of the Socio-Emotional Guidance Questionnaire (SEG-Q). Measurement invariance across three groups of teachers teaching in different stages of secondary education (Total n = 3,336) was tested, by means of multigroup confirmatory factor analyses (MGCFA) in Mplus. The results show partial invariance of the SEG-Q across the teacher groups, confirming that the SEG-Q is a psychometrically sound self-report instrument for secondary education teachers which can be used by researchers and practitioners to measure, map, describe, or evaluate integrated socioemotional guidance.

The Value of Workshops on Psychological Flexibility for Early Childhood Special Education Staff

High stress and burnout are common for early childhood special educators, contributing to high rates of attrition, diminished educational effectiveness, and high turnover. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a promising approach for the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of problems. Using a randomized wait-list control design, this pilot study evaluated whether ACT workshops delivered to preschool teachers who serve children with developmental disabilities would improve stress-related problems of teachers (i.e., stress, depression, and burnout) and increase collegial support. At pretest, measures of experiential avoidance (EA) and mindful awareness (MA) showed significant relationships to reports of depression, stress, and burnout. The intervention reduced staff members' EA, increased teachers' MA and valued living (VL), and improved teachers' sense of efficacy. This suggests that ACT workshops can help influence factors affecting depression, stress, and burnout in an early childhood special education setting.

Predictors of posttraumatic growth among parents of children undergoing inpatient corrective surgery for congenital disease

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is a positive psychological change, or benefit, as a result of a major life trauma and/or loss. The role of emotional intelligence (EI), social support, self-efficacy, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and resilience in PTG was evaluated in parents of children undergoing a surgical procedure for congenital disease.

METHODS

A questionnaire survey was conducted in 208 parents of children undergoing inpatient surgery for correction of congenital disease at the Departments of Pediatric Surgery, Qilu and Shandong Province Hospital, China, between May and September. Posttraumatic growth was measured using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. The study variables were measured using the Emotional Intelligence Scale, Perceived Social Support Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version, and the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, respectively. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to identify the significant predictors.

RESULTS

Posttraumatic growth was reported in 54.3% (113) of parents. Posttraumatic growth was positively associated with EI, self-efficacy, resilience, and PTSS (total P < .05). Social support was positively associated with the domain of relating to others in the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (r = .208, P < .01). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated EI was the main predictor of posttraumatic growth, whereas resilience and PTSS were the mediators of personal resources (EI and self-efficacy), perceived social support, and the growth.

CONCLUSIONS

The relationship between PTG and other variables have been examined at only one point in time. Longitudinal studies in exploring the impact of EI and other variables affecting PTG can be used to reduce the impact of bidirectionality that may have impact on the conclusions drawn. Emotional management programs should focus on the use of EI as a proactive measure for enhancing emotional well-being and promoting positive emotions.

Relationship between quality of life and occupational stress among teachers

OBJECTIVES

With major changes in the education system and limited resources supplied by the Government, Chinese teachers have been suffering from greater occupational stress in recent years, which is believed to affect their physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between quality of life and occupational stress in primary and middle school teachers.

STUDY DESIGN

Originals.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted using cluster sampling. The study population was composed of 3570 school teachers working in 64 primary and middle schools in Heping District in Shenyang, China. A demographic questionnaire, the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Occupational Stress Inventory Revised Edition were employed to collect demographic variables and assess quality of life and occupational stress. Multivariate stepwise linear regression analyses were performed to study the relationship between quality of life and occupational stress.

RESULTS

The mean scores for both male and female teachers in this study were significantly lower than those for the Chinese general population for all dimensions of quality of life, except mental health and vitality (P<0.05). Male teachers scored significantly higher than female teachers for physical functioning, bodily pain, vitality and physical health (P<0.05). Age, role overload, role insufficiency, vocational strain, psychological strain, physical strain, recreation and rational coping were significantly associated with both the physical and mental component summaries of the SF-36 (P<0.05). Gender, physical environment and self-care appeared to be robust indicators of physical health (P<0.05), while role insufficiency, interpersonal strain and social support were strong indicators of mental health (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

In China, teachers have a lower health status than the general population. The quality of life of female teachers is worse than that of male teachers, and deteriorates with age. Occupational stress and strain induce worsening physical and mental conditions for teachers, while coping resources could promote their health. This study suggests that having adequate coping resources, especially social support, in workplaces may be an important factor for improving teachers' quality of life. Moreover, psychological interventions should be set up for teachers, and psychological counselling should be provided to relieve stress and enhance quality of life.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND SELF-EFFICACY IN A SAMPLE OF ITALIAN HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS

The aim in this study was to further analyze the construct of emotional intelligence and its relation to occupational self-efficacy in a sample of Italian teachers. The Italian version of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: Short (Bar-On, 2002) and the Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2001) were administered to 169 participants. Significant differences in emotional intelligence emerged with respect to age. In comparison to females, males obtained higher scores in the intrapersonal dimension, while women scored higher on the interpersonal dimension. Teacher self-efficacy was best explained by the intrapersonal dimension. The study indicates both a need for further analysis of the emotional intelligence of teachers and new areas of possible research.