Teachers' Monthly Reports of Classroom Demands During Instructional Format Changes Necessitated by COVID-19

• In Event: Educational Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objectives
Teaching is a stressful profession (Bottiani, 2019; Gallup, 2014; Travers, 2017). Prolonged stress has a number of detrimental impacts on teachers, including reduced job satisfaction, burnout, and high turnover (Author, 2009; Ingersoll, 2001). Classroom demands, such as large class sizes, inadequate time, limited student motivation, and difficult student behaviors are known to be a primary driver of teacher stress (Lever et al., 2017; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2017). What is not known is how the pandemic affected classroom demands for teachers, during which time most teachers were switched to online and/or hybrid learning at some point (Education Week, 2020). This paper summarizes longitudinal data conducted throughout the 2020-2021 academic year in a suburban Southwest public school district. We partnered with a local school district to survey teachers about how they appraised demands in their classroom on a monthly basis and what instructional formats they were using at each time point.
Theoretical Framework
The primary theoretical orientation for the study was Lazarus & Folkman’s (1984) transactional theory of stress, which posits individuals’ appraisals of their situational demands and resources is a key determinant of when stress will ensure. Specifically, when an individual’s perceived demands outweigh their anticipated resources, stress occurs (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). For this study, we modified a measure called the Classroom Appraisal of Demands and Resources (CARD; Author, 2001) to examine teachers' perceived demands in the classroom. The nature of classroom demands were examined as varying formats (e.g. online, face-to-face, and hybrid), which posed unique challenges for teachers.
Methods and Data Source
We partnered with a local school district administration to recruit teachers from a random sample of 10,000 teachers by email. Ultimately, 335 teachers consented to participate in the study. From December 2020 to April 2021, teachers completed monthly abbreviated versions of the CARD measure. The analysis for this study was primarily descriptive. Each month, information about the teachers’ instructional format was obtained: in person, online, and hybrid instruction (i.e., blend of in-person and online instruction). As noted above, an adapted version of the CARD was used monthly to assess the magnitude of various classroom demands (e.g., student behaviors, other student-related demands, demands from administrators, managing instructional tools, accommodating diverse student needs).
Results
Throughout the months, teachers expressed differing levels of student behavior demands across the varying instructional formats. For instance, in person teachers reported more demands related to challenging student behaviors (e.g., disruptions, disrespect) than their online-only colleagues. In contrast, online-only teachers reported more demands related to non-student behavior demands (e.g., poor attendance, incomplete assignments) than their in-person only colleagues.
Scholarly Significance
These contrasts seem to suggest there are different relevant demands for teachers depending on their instruction formats. Indeed it seems non-student behavior demands are notably reduced for in-person teaching formats, which may indicate there are unexplored outside factors unique to online instruction, such as home environments demands for students.

Authors

• Madison Blaydes, University of Texas at Austin

• Karen French, University of Texas at Austin

• Cassandra Gearhart, University of Texas at Austin

• Kristen C. Mosley, Austin Independent School District

• Christopher J. McCarthy, University of Texas at Austin