A psycho-social well-being profile of South African teachers during a world pandemic

Abstract

The sudden and rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic exerted tremendous pressure on teachers, requiring an immediate shift from in-person to virtual teaching and learning. This immediate transition compelled teachers to adopt new teaching and learning methods while simultaneously managing COVID-19-related challenges on a personal level. Against this background, the purpose of the current study was to explore, describe and explain how South African teachers coped with the pandemic, specifically focusing on the psycho-social coping strategies they relied on. The ultimate aim was to compile a psycho-social well-being profile of South African teachers. The study was guided by the primary research question: How did psycho-social coping support the well-being and resilience profile of teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic? The guiding conceptual framework of the study integrates concepts from the asset-based approach, the leisure and well-being model as well as the diagnostic criteria of functional resilience. I employed a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design and adopted a pragmatic epistemology. Quantitative data was collected through an online questionnaire that was completed by 240 urban school teachers, selected through non-probability purposive sampling. Participants who took part in the qualitative phase were screened and drawn from the quantitative sample. This was followed by data generation during the qualitative phase through online participatory focus groups with 24 participants, using observation, audio recordings, field notes and a research journal were relied on to document the data. Quantitative data was analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics, while the qualitative data was analysed through a hybrid thematic analysis process. The quantitative data analysis results indicate a correlation between emotion-focused coping and resilience. Teachers relied on positive reinterpretation and growth, the use of emotional social support, acceptance and religious coping during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, adapting to new circumstances, staying optimistic, engaging in leisure and recreation, and accepting responsibility for self-care were identified as additional coping strategies during the qualitative data analysis phase. Based on the findings of the study it can be concluded that the reliance on several psycho-social coping strategies enabled teachers to cope with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby supporting a psycho-social well-being and resilience profile of teachers when faced with sudden change and challenges.