Background: There have been numerous studies conducted that have found a negative effect of school closures on student achievement and on student’s physical and mental wellbeing. However, there are fewer studies exploring the effect that the school closures have had on teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Hong Kong (HK). Teachers’ mental wellbeing affects their performance as education professionals; therefore, as a society, it is imperative that we support our teachers’ mental wellbeing in order to continue to provide an outstanding education for future generations. Objective: This study aims to assess the effect that the school closures have had on teachers’ mental health and to ascertain whether teachers have access to mental health resources and if so, which of these were the most effective. Method: An exploratory qualitative research design was employed. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and surveys were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Employing the acronym PEDAGOGICAL, the findings suggest that the school closures had a detrimental effect on teachers’ mental wellbeing, thwarting basic and universal psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. There were some positive aspects, including the flexibility of working from home, less time commuting and more time with family. On the whole however, the ongoing school closures and more specifically, the uncertainty around the COVID-19 government policies, negatively affected teachers’ overall mental health. Implications: This study has implications for education policy and practice, in HK and internationally, notably the importance of safeguarding teachers’ mental wellbeing to ensure continued high-quality teaching, the wellbeing of our youth and ultimately the health of our society.
| Published in | Education Journal (Volume 11, Issue 4) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.edu.20221104.11 |
| Page(s) | 137-150 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group |
COVID-19, Mental Wellbeing, Pedagogy, School Closure, Teachers
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APA Style
Judith Blaine. (2022). Teachers’ Mental Wellbeing During Ongoing School Closures in Hong Kong. Education Journal, 11(4), 137-150. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20221104.11
ACS Style
Judith Blaine. Teachers’ Mental Wellbeing During Ongoing School Closures in Hong Kong. Educ. J. 2022, 11(4), 137-150. doi: 10.11648/j.edu.20221104.11
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Download@article{10.11648/j.edu.20221104.11,
author = {Judith Blaine},
title = {Teachers’ Mental Wellbeing During Ongoing School Closures in Hong Kong},
journal = {Education Journal},
volume = {11},
number = {4},
pages = {137-150},
doi = {10.11648/j.edu.20221104.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20221104.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.edu.20221104.11},
abstract = {Background: There have been numerous studies conducted that have found a negative effect of school closures on student achievement and on student’s physical and mental wellbeing. However, there are fewer studies exploring the effect that the school closures have had on teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Hong Kong (HK). Teachers’ mental wellbeing affects their performance as education professionals; therefore, as a society, it is imperative that we support our teachers’ mental wellbeing in order to continue to provide an outstanding education for future generations. Objective: This study aims to assess the effect that the school closures have had on teachers’ mental health and to ascertain whether teachers have access to mental health resources and if so, which of these were the most effective. Method: An exploratory qualitative research design was employed. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and surveys were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Employing the acronym PEDAGOGICAL, the findings suggest that the school closures had a detrimental effect on teachers’ mental wellbeing, thwarting basic and universal psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. There were some positive aspects, including the flexibility of working from home, less time commuting and more time with family. On the whole however, the ongoing school closures and more specifically, the uncertainty around the COVID-19 government policies, negatively affected teachers’ overall mental health. Implications: This study has implications for education policy and practice, in HK and internationally, notably the importance of safeguarding teachers’ mental wellbeing to ensure continued high-quality teaching, the wellbeing of our youth and ultimately the health of our society.},
year = {2022}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Teachers’ Mental Wellbeing During Ongoing School Closures in Hong Kong AU - Judith Blaine Y1 - 2022/07/18 PY - 2022 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20221104.11 DO - 10.11648/j.edu.20221104.11 T2 - Education Journal JF - Education Journal JO - Education Journal SP - 137 EP - 150 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2327-2619 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20221104.11 AB - Background: There have been numerous studies conducted that have found a negative effect of school closures on student achievement and on student’s physical and mental wellbeing. However, there are fewer studies exploring the effect that the school closures have had on teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Hong Kong (HK). Teachers’ mental wellbeing affects their performance as education professionals; therefore, as a society, it is imperative that we support our teachers’ mental wellbeing in order to continue to provide an outstanding education for future generations. Objective: This study aims to assess the effect that the school closures have had on teachers’ mental health and to ascertain whether teachers have access to mental health resources and if so, which of these were the most effective. Method: An exploratory qualitative research design was employed. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and surveys were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Employing the acronym PEDAGOGICAL, the findings suggest that the school closures had a detrimental effect on teachers’ mental wellbeing, thwarting basic and universal psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. There were some positive aspects, including the flexibility of working from home, less time commuting and more time with family. On the whole however, the ongoing school closures and more specifically, the uncertainty around the COVID-19 government policies, negatively affected teachers’ overall mental health. Implications: This study has implications for education policy and practice, in HK and internationally, notably the importance of safeguarding teachers’ mental wellbeing to ensure continued high-quality teaching, the wellbeing of our youth and ultimately the health of our society. VL - 11 IS - 4 ER -
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