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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented changes to education as teachers
and learners adapted to new digital pedagogies and home working. Teaching, and
especially language teaching, was a high-stress job even before the pandemic and
the sudden switch to working and teaching from home created a long list of new
stressors. Considering how stress can negatively impact wellbeing and lead to
burnout, it is essential to understand this impact on teachers. This study used an
explanatory sequential mixed-methods design to examine stress, wellbeing, and
burnout among language teachers working and teaching from home. A survey of 52
participants first identified and ranked stressors and correlated these with wellbeing
(measured using the PERMA profiler) and burnout (using the Burnout Assessment
Tool). Follow-up interviews with six participants explored the survey results in more
detail. The study found that workload, blurred lines between work and home, and a
lack of face-to-face contact with learners and/or colleagues were the most stressful
aspects of online teaching. Positive correlations were also found between stress and
burnout, while negative correlations between wellbeing and both stress and burnout
were also identified. Recommendations were made to reduce stress and promote
wellbeing when working and teaching from home.

Course: TESOL/Leadership and Management - MA - P2593PTD

Date Deposited: 2022-09-06

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis14014.html