Time spent on distance learning moderates changes in teachers' work-related well-being one year after the first school closures.

Abstract

It is now well documented that school closures enforced at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic impaired teachers' well-being. Yet, only a few studies tracked changes in teachers' well-being during the subsequent phases of the pandemic, phases that were characterized by the discontinuous implementation of in-person teaching and distance learning. To fill this gap, we conducted a follow-up study at the end of the school year 2020-2021 (May-June 2021, T2), administering an online questionnaire to Italian teachers (N = 240) who had previously taken part in a data collection conducted at the end of the first school closures (May-June 2020, T1). Our first aim was to monitor changes in teachers' psychological and work-related well-being between T1 and T2. Our second aim was to assess whether time spent on distance learning moderates these changes in psychological and work-related well-being. Results showed that teachers' psychological well-being decreased between T1 and T2, whereas work-related well-being increased. What is more, time spent on distance learning moderated the general increase in work-related well-being observed at T2: The longer teachers implemented distance learning during the school year 2021, the less their work-related well-being increased. In conclusion, although it seems that teachers have adapted to the changes associated with the first school closures, this study showed that distance learning remains a possible risk factor for teachers' well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).