Teacher Mental Health in a Global Pandemic: Lessons From 2020

• In Event: The Pandemic's Toll on the Teaching Profession

Abstract

This paper explores the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid shift to remote/virtual education on teachers’ mental health. Teachers play multiple roles in students’ lives (Cross & Hong, 2012), but have faced increased responsibilities for monitoring students’ mental health and helping families cope with the impacts of the pandemic, which has impacted teachers’ mental health both positively and negatively. This study, which draws on interview data from a larger pool of interviews conducted with k-12 teachers nationally and internationally in 2020, illustrates the impact of teachers’ intersectional identities on mental health as they interface with students’ needs during the pandemic, as well as teachers’ resilience in coping with their own and students’/families’ needs as the pandemic continues.

Authors

• Mary R. Adkins-Cartee, University of Oregon

• Dana Cohen Lissman, University of Oregon