"I Just Feel Worn Out": School Conditions Constraining Teacher Agency During COVID-19

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Fourteen
  In Roundtable Session: Lessons Learned Through COVID-19: Understanding the Long-Term Impacts and Leader Responses (Table 2)

Abstract

Teacher attrition continues to worsen as the challenges from COVID-19 persist. The present study uniquely approaches the problem of teacher attrition during COVID-19 by understanding how school dynamics inhibit teacher agency. Three veteran teachers, who left their school district at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 school year, present their recollections and stories which illustrate their constraints to their agency during the pandemic. Increasing de-professionalization practices, emerging problematic student behaviors and inconsistent policy enforcement, and the lack of collaboration between administration and teachers reduced the teachers’ decision-making options and led to feelings of helplessness, frustration, and burnout; in turn, these feelings motivated their decision to leave education. Implications for practice are provided.

Author

• Andrew L. Kipp, Texas A&M University
  Presenting Author