Back to School: Italian Teachers’ Perceptions of the Impact of COVID-19 on Personal and Social Well-Being and Teaching Methods

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, continuous closing and reopening of schools may have had an impact on teachers’ perception of the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 and of the effectiveness of health measures introduced to limit the spread of the virus, with consequences on teaching methods and relational bonds within schools. By means of an online survey, we measured: teachers’ stress, job-satisfaction, self-efficacy and emotions at work, risk-perception of contracting SARS-CoV-2, perception of effectiveness of health measures, teaching methods and social relationships. Participants were 2446 teachers (2142 women and 304 men) all engaged in the four educational stages. Most of the respondents were aged 50 or older (45%), followed by a group aged 41–50 (31%) and by a group aged <40 (24%). We used path analysis to test the impact that COVID-19 had, according to teachers, on teaching methods (Model 1) and social relationships (Model 2). In both models, teachers’ stress was positively directly associated with risk-perception of contracting SARS-CoV-2 (Model 1: β = 0.10; p < 0.001; Model 2: β = 0.09; p < 0.001). Additionally, we found an indirect path between teachers’ stress and risk-perception of contracting SARS-CoV-2 on the one hand, and perception of effectiveness of health measures on the other hand (Model 1: β = 0.02; p < 0.001; Model 2: β = 0.02; p < 0.001). These results suggest that, in emergencies, risk perception level, emotional regulation, and teachers’ stress levels were all key factors affecting teaching methods and relationship quality in schools.