The Perceived Effects of the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Focus on Educators’ Perceptions of the Negative Effects on Educator Stress and Student Well-Being

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an urgent pivot to remote learning, causing many challenges for teachers and school administrators. The current study sought to better understand the extent to which the perceived negative impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. educators and their students varied as a function of staff role (teacher vs. administrator), school level (elementary vs. secondary school), and type of school setting (public vs. private), as reported through a national survey of educators conducted in June through July of 2020. Using data from 608 educators (n = 481 teachers and n = 127 administrators; 48% elementary; 85% public school), we examined educators’ perceptions of negative impacts on their personal lives, professional lives, and students’ lives; major challenges; and stress in various domains. Findings suggested an overall high level of concern across domains. Investigation of educator subgroup effects suggested elementary educators and administrators were most concerned about the negative impacts on students.

Impact Statement

Educators, including teachers and administrators alike, experienced significant negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their work-related stress concern about students, and their own well-being. Some subgroups, like elementary educators, those working in public schools, and teachers (compared to administrators), may require additional assistance in managing stress, and supporting students, both academically and with regard to their social–emotional needs.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• public schools
• private schools
• administrators
• educator stress

Associate Editor:

• Cixin Wang

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The survey was conducted in partnership with the EdTech Evidence Exchange. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education or either of the other sponsors.

DISCLOSURE

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported in part by funding to the EdTech Evidence Exchange from the Strada Education Network, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. This research was supported in part by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305H150027 to Catherine Bradshaw at the University of Virginia.

Notes on contributors

Catherine P. Bradshaw

Catherine P. Bradshaw, PhD, MEd, is a University Professor and the Senior Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs at the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. Her primary research interests focus on the development of aggressive behavior and school-based prevention. She collaborates on research projects examining bullying and school climate; the development of aggressive and problem behaviors; effects of exposure to violence, peer victimization, and environmental stress on children; children with emotional and behavioral disorders and autism; and the design, evaluation, and implementation of evidence-based prevention programs in schools. She has led a number of federally funded randomized trials of school-based prevention programs, including Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and social–emotional learning curricula.

Joseph M. Kush

Joseph M. Kush, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Graduate Psychology at James Madison University. His research is primarily interested in improving statistical methods and research designs for the social sciences, with methodological work examining latent variable measurement in multilevel settings, propensity score matching and weighting for intervention implementation, integrative data analysis, and research design considerations such as statistical power for cluster randomized trials. He has also worked closely alongside substantive researchers in the areas of educational and behavioral interventions and evaluation, racial disproportionality in disciplinary outcomes, and measurement related to social, emotional, and behavioral assessments.

Summer S. Braun

Summer S. Braun, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and affiliated with the Center for Youth Development and Intervention at the University of Alabama. Her research centers on schools as a particularly salient context for children’s development. Her program of research focuses on understanding the associations between teachers’ occupational health and well-being and their students’ social, emotional, and behavioral development using a variety of methodological approaches. Her work bridges research and practice by studying interventions designed to support the well-being of teachers and students, such as mindfulness-based wellness programs.

Emily A. Kohler

Emily A. Kohler, PhD, is a Research Assistant Professor at the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on education technology (edtech) implementation, identifying, defining, and measuring the individual and setting factors that contribute to the success or failure of edtech in various instructional environments. She is the Director of Research at the EdTech Evidence Exchange, a nonprofit aiming to provide edtech decision-makers with the information they need to make appropriate edtech choices and effectively implement edtech in their contexts. Her research synthesizes technology usage data, context (i.e., setting and individual) characteristics, and direct user input from educators about how technologies work in their schools.