Fear of Covid drove many teachers to the brink, UWC study finds

After surviving Covid-19 complications that landed her in intensive care and on a ventilator for more than three weeks, Pamela almost gave up a 25-year teaching career.

“I didn’t realise how surviving Covid-19 had affected my mental state. I developed this serious anxiety, particularly after I went back to class after about two months of not teaching,” said the primary schoolteacher, who asked that her surname not be revealed.

“I remember on my first day I had to be rushed to the doctor because I had a panic attack while teaching. I started sweating profusely and experienced intense hot flushes, even though it was in winter. I was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The anxiety I had about going back to the classroom was so much that I was ready to give up teaching and resign.

—  Pamela

“My doctor said landing in intensive care clearly took a toll on me and recommended I see a psychologist. I think that’s when things got better.

“The anxiety I had about going back to the classroom was so much that I was ready to give up teaching and resign. Thanks to therapy I had a change of heart and l’m loving teaching again.”

Pamela’s case is not unusual, according to a University of the Western Cape (UWC) study which examined resilience in the relationship between fear of Covid-19 and burnout among primary schoolteachers.

It suggests fear of Covid-19 was associated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, while teachers with high levels of personal accomplishment and psychological resilience were found to be less fearful of the virus.

The study said when Covid-19 surfaced, teachers were among the first to experience pandemic-related stress and sudden and unprecedented changes in the nature of their work.

The transition to online learning put them under enormous pressure, researchers reported after interviewing 355 teachers in the province, mostly women.

“They had to contend with unprecedented changes to their work role, as well as new job demands, coupled with insufficient resources and the effects of the pandemic on their personal lives,” said Prof Tyrone Pretorius, lead researcher and UWC vice-chancellor, in a pre-proof paper in the Annals of Medico-Psychology.

“While some teachers struggled to cope and reported intense levels of fear of Covid-19 and burnout, others were able to adapt and experienced a sense of growth and accomplishment.”

Pretorius and his colleagues said reports of Covid-19-related deaths among teachers and the presence of comorbidities in half of SA’s educators may have aggravated their fear of infection.

“School closures required teachers to quickly upskill in information communication technology and online teaching design. This could have placed tremendous pressure on teachers to master a new way of working and contributed to emotional exhaustion,” wrote Pretorius.

“Teachers with internet access may have been more likely to be exposed to information on Covid-19, which aggravated their fear of the virus, precipitating depersonalisation.

“The mandate to return to conventional classroom teaching may have contributed to a sense of despair and hopelessness within schoolteachers about being able to protect their families and themselves.

“Having to manage schoolchildren who may not always understand the need for social  distancing, sanitising and mask wearing can heighten the teachers’ anxiety regarding transmission of the virus.”

Factors found to confer resilience included “feeling supported and valued at work, having a good social support base and possessing high levels of self-efficacy”. According to the researchers, the presence of some of these protective factors may have contributed to the resilience of teachers.

“Overall, the results obtained in this study confirm that resilience is a salient protective factor in the association between burnout and fear of Covid-19 among South African schoolteachers.

“Our findings underscore that promoting individual- and institutional-level strategies to support teachers is necessary to build resilience, especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.”