Study shows: Corona pandemic puts a strain on teachers
Findings from a study sponsored by DAK Health and conducted by the Institute for Therapy and Health Research, IFT-North, in cooperation with the IPN showed that teachers are massively impacted by the Corona crisis.
The IFT surveyed online teachers at 1581 schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. Around 2000 teachers and school administrators responded. According to the survey, 90% of teachers currently find teaching more strenuous than in the year before the pandemic. 28% of teachers feel exhausted several times a month. 65% of teachers are very concerned about their own health, the majority of teachers are concerned about the mental health of students and their learning progress. 80% of the teachers are burdened by the insecurity of the coming months. 84% of the teachers state that they work more during the Corona pandemic than before the pandemic. On average, teachers work six hours of overtime per week and school directors nine hours. Teachers and school administrators are particularly subject to exhaustion.
The teachers interviewed stated that they would like to see clear and uniform guidelines from the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs as well as protective equipment and technical devices for infection control. They would also like to see more continuing education courses on distance and digital learning.
Prof. Dr. Uta Klusmann of the IPN on the results of the study: "The study confirms that teachers are currently facing major and completely new challenges, which are reflected in increased levels of stress. It is interesting to note that the burden is unequally distributed among the individual members of the school; while school administrators report a particularly high level of overtime, it is the teachers who show particularly high burnout symptoms. It is also clear, however, that good communication between teachers and school management and close exchange within the teaching staff are important protective factors to counteract the strain".
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Prof. Dr. Uta Klusmann
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