Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Teachers’ Health: Lessons for Improving Distance Education

Abstract

The transition to distance education has led to deterioration in the health of teachers and students. The purpose of the study was to identify controlled factors of the educational environment, the impact of which in an emergency situation due to a pandemic on infectious disease can be influenced by the administration of general secondary education institutions. Material and methods: 339 teachers and 828 parents of general secondary schools of Mykolaiv region (Ukraine) took part in research from May to June 2021. The research tool was a self-administered survey questionnaire.The study found that social networks were the leading source of information on the COVID-19 pandemic situation for educators. The vast majority of educators indicated that they follow certain rules of conduct in order not to get sick. Most respondents admitted that they experienced weakness, mood swings, depressed thoughts, anxiety and tension due to the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. Mostly more fatigue, hypodynamics and impaired vision were considered by teachers as manifestations of deteriorating physical condition. Manifestations of psychological deterioration, according to teachers, were greater aggression, agitation, signs of depression and emotional instability. The key factors in preventing the deterioration of teachers’ health in the event of an infectious disease pandemic, which can be influenced by the administration of general secondary education institutions, include: reducing the workload of teachers during distance education; conducting professionally oriented education of teachers in the field of health technologies; increasing the level of information competence of teachers; improving the technological base of schools for distance learning.