Well-being among Arab teachers in Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-methods study

ABSTRACT

Studies on minority-majority relations traditionally focus on the hegemonic group’s influence on everyday experiences. In this investigation, we focused on how Arab teachers in Israel were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic by examining their well-being during that period. The study used a mixed-methods design comprising a cross-sectional survey (N = 299) and in-depth interviews (N = 24) among Arab teachers during the third lockdown in Israel. The quantitative results indicated that giving teachers more support at work boosted their emotional well-being. In the regression model, the following significant factors explained 20% of the variance in perceived emotional well-being: female gender, teaching seniority, digital literacy, job support, and resilience. The qualitative findings showed the importance of extended family, particularly during the pandemic. In addition, all participants reported that their religious faith helped them cope during the crisis. The research findings point to the unique need for resources to promote well-being among Arab teachers working under stress.

KEYWORDS:

• Coronavirus
• Arabs
• teachers
• resilience
• well-being
• job support

Acknowledgments

We thank all participants for their efforts.

Disclosure statement

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

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The present study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Education’s Chief Scientist (Approval no. 11606) and by the Bar-Ilan University Ethics Committee (Approval no. 011202). The introductory page to our survey explicitly stated that by proceeding to the questionnaire participants indicated their consent to participate.

Availability of data and materials

The data sets used in the study can be provided by the corresponding author upon request.

Author’s contributions

Both authors recruited the participants and collected and analysed the data. IL wrote the paper. SSA revised the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/2005615X.2024.2338981

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Ministry of Education’s Chief Scientist [Approval no. 11606].

Notes on contributors

Inbar Levkovich

Prof. Inbar Levkovich, Ph.D., is Associate Professor and Head of the Unit for Theses in the Faculty of Graduate Studies, at Oranim Academic College, Israel. Her main areas of research are Stress, coping and mental health.

Shiri Shinan-Altman

Dr. Shiri Shinan-Altman, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Social Sciences, School of Social. My research work deals with social work in health care settings and focuses on the various aspects of the assessment of psychosocial adjustments of patients, their families, and professionals who work in the health care setting.