From “I don’t know what I’m doing” to “I can’t do this anymore.” A qualitative comparison of the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among K-12 educators across two academic years

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic created worldwide upheaval, with K-12 educators among those who had to quickly adapt to new teaching methods which caused increased stress. In response, supportive mental health services, including a call/text support line, group workshops, and a self-paced online program, were offered to educators. At the end of the use of services, the mental health providers compiled notes about the educators’ experiences. The notes from these services and follow up surveys were analyzed qualitatively, comparing the experience of pandemic teaching across two academic years. Results indicate that initially, educators were overwhelmed by the rapid adjustments required, but tried to meet student needs. As the pandemic continued, stressors changed to feeling unsupported impacts on their personal lives, and thoughts of quitting. As educators attempt to navigate classrooms and lives that have been disrupted by the pandemic, they may benefit from both community support and systemic changes as well as ongoing mental health care to support their well-being.

Keywords:

• Educator well-being and mental health
• pandemic teaching

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This project was sponsored by the Colorado Office of Behavioral Health; the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment through SAMHSA and FEMA; the Colorado State Legislature; and the Colorado Education Association.