Educational Communication and Stress at Preschool and Primary Teachers in the Educational Pandemic Context

Abstract

Abstract In the pandemic context, both stress and educational communication have been altered. In this article, we will analyse the dynamics of the factors involved in didactic communication and identify the real and potential stressors for teachers teaching before pandemic; we will also assess their perceptions of the anxiety felt about online teaching and how it affects educational communication. The hypothesis of the research postulates that the stress perceived by the teachers has elevated during pandemic and the educational communication has gone through a series of changes and reorientations both at the level of the didactic strategies adopted and the regulation of anxiety factors involved (the feeling of safety, the perception of break as a stress factor instead of relaxation, the volume of tasks attributed to each teacher etc). The research variables were the pandemic context in school environment, the level of stress as perceived by the teachers and the educational communication. The research objectives were aimed at assessing the perception of teachers in rural areas vs. that of teachers in urban areas regarding the stress felt and the dynamics of educational communication; also comparing the stress felt by teachers and the dynamics of educational communication incumbents vs. substitutes, educators vs. teachers and teachers in rural areas vs. urban teachers. We expect that the results of the research would have therefore a more assumed awareness from school managers of the fact that there are many predictors of stress that should no longer be ignored and that raising teacher’s resilience both at personal level and academic one should become a priority. School managers should organize mindfulness courses and anxiety management courses for teachers.