Educators Are Not Alright: Mental Health During COVID-19
From the article: " Educator mental health sits at the intersection of multiple pressing educational issues. We are among the first to provide estimates of school system employee (SSE) stress, anxiety, and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most participants reported clinically meaningful anxiety and depressive symptoms (77.96% and 53.65%, respectively). Being in the lowest strata of family income was associated with higher stress, a greater likelihood of clinically significant depressive symptoms, and reduced intentions to continue in the same job, portending the current staffing shortages affecting schools. Supporting SSE mental health should become a policy priority.
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented strain on school systems. Teachers are experiencing high levels of burnout (Pressley, 2021), and many school system employees (SSEs) are considering leaving their jobs (Kaufman et al., 2020). Although SSE mental health sits at the intersection of multiple pressing educational issues, including staff attrition and retention, school climate, and occupational effectiveness, research on the topic is scarce (Harding et al., 2019). The purpose of this study is to provide some of the first estimates of SSE stress, anxiety, and depression during the pandemic, using standardized instruments."