Occupational stress of elementary school teachers after eased COVID-19 restrictions: a qualitative study from China

Frontiers in Psychology

Psychology

Yujing Yao¹  Jie Xu² 

[1] Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China;null;

关键词: job stress;    job burnout;    primary school teacher;    COVID-19;    qualitative study;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1183100

 received in 2023-03-09, accepted in 2023-05-11,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundOn December 7, 2022, China optimized its virus response and significantly shifted its epidemic policy by downgrading COVID management and gradually restoring offline teaching in schools. This shift has brought many impacts on teachers.AimsThrough qualitative research of thematic analysis, this paper studies the occupational pressure of primary school teachers in China after the shift in epidemic policy.MethodsTwo recruitment methods are adopted for this study. One was to email the principals of several primary schools in Zhejiang Province to introduce the research project and indicate the idea of recruiting participants. With their help, we have found teachers who volunteer to participate. The second was to release recruitment information in the network forum (e.g., online teacher forums) to find volunteer participants. Through semi-structured interviews and diaries, 18 primary school teachers from different regions and schools in Zhejiang Province were interviewed. All responses in the interviews were transcribed anonymously. Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis was used to analyze the participants’ responses.ResultsEighteen participants took part in the research project. Forty-five final codes, generated from 89 codes initially obtained from the dataset, are classified into five final themes: uncertainty, overburdened, neglected, worry about students, and influence, which reflect the professional stress of primary school teachers following the epidemic prevention policies relaxed.ConclusionFive themes were identified in the research. The problems described by the participants include burdensome offline activities, being disturbed out of hours, and appearing understaffed for the infection. These problems harmed the participants’ mental health, including anxiety, fatigue, stress, and other adverse psychological conditions. Awareness and attention to the psychological situation of primary school teachers after the eased COVID control are crucial. We believe protecting teachers’ mental health is necessary, especially in this particular period.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Yao and Xu.