Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Dr. Jennifer Courduff

Abstract

Teaching has never been an easy profession, but the swift transition from in-person to digital instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic made it significantly more difficult. Between a global pandemic and a nation's racial reckoning, teachers were forced to juggle work, family, and student responsibilities. While there were suggested tips on how to practice self-care, the findings on self-care have been conflicting, and there is a scarcity of research on the role that teacher self-care played in persistence for classroom teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore reported teacher self-care practices and how teachers perceived the role of self-care influenced their beliefs about teacher persistence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conceptual framework of this study was formed by combining Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory and Quarantelli and Dynes's social crisis and disaster theory. The study’s research questions focused on how teachers who taught Grades 6–12 during the pandemic described their practices of self-care at that time, and how their perceptions of self-care influenced their beliefs about persistence during COVID-19. Ten teachers from Grades 6-12 participated in semistructured interviews for this study. Additionally, thematic coding was used to interpret transcripts. The findings suggest that teachers who taught Grades 6–12 during the pandemic expressed the need for physical, mental, and emotional well-being as vital self-care practices for sustaining longevity and remaining in the classroom. This study has implications for social change because it provides methods to support teacher development and perseverance in the practice of self-care and future research that will support those practices in times of crisis.

Download

Share

 
COinS