Affiliation:
1. University of North Carolina Wilmington, USA
Abstract
Teaching has long been considered a stressful profession, but the COVID-19 pandemic upended the profession in ways that are transforming teaching and learning. Worsening work conditions for teachers are impacting the well-being of educators and leading to burnout, teacher attrition, and increased issues with health. While some changes resulting from the transition to online schooling are positive, the rapid pace at which change has occurred has made working conditions even more challenging. In response to this crisis, school districts, principals, and other school administrators have provided a variety of guidelines and outreach methods as a way of minimizing the damage. Similarly, university teacher education program faculty are experiencing many of the same challenges, while continuing to work with teachers and students in the field. This chapter presents real-time descriptions of the state of schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic and identifies connections for teacher preparation programs as they grapple with ways to support teachers and the teaching profession.