Investigating the Relationships between COVID-19 Quality of Life, Loneliness, Happiness, and Internet Addiction among K-12 Teachers and School Administrators—A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Abstract

It is well acknowledged that the roles of both school administrators and teachers have changed due to the global education crisis caused by COVID-19. During this challenging and critical period, it is essential to investigate how those working in the education sector who undertake strategic tasks for sustainable education are affected by the new conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigates the interrelationships between COVID-19 quality of life, loneliness, happiness, and Internet addiction. The research was designed according to the relational survey model, was conducted with 432 school administrators and teachers working in K-12 schools. The research data was collected through online questionnaires, and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test and analyze proposed hypotheses. The study’s results revealed a positive relationship between the COVID-19 related quality of life and loneliness, and that loneliness significantly positively predicts Internet addiction. In this context, due to the impact of COVID-19 on the life quality, the participants’ loneliness levels significantly increased, and this increase in loneliness caused them to become addicted to using the Internet. Interestingly, it was also determined that a positive relationship exists between loneliness and happiness and that as the loneliness of individuals increased, their level of happiness also increased. In many studies conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a negative relationship was revealed between loneliness and happiness. In the current study conducted during the pandemic, the relationship between the two variables was positive. SEM results revealed that COVID-19 directly affects the quality of life, Internet addiction, loneliness, and happiness of school administrators and teachers. Furthermore, it was determined that Internet addiction indirectly affects the relationship between loneliness and happiness.

Implementation of Covid-19 protection protocols and its implication on learning & teaching in public schools

“… Encouraging communication and coordination among education actors, families, learners, and the health community needs to get a priority. To explain this more, the problems experienced by both teachers and school administrators on teaching and learning during COVID-19 pandemic may be resolved through colleague assistance and team work ( Karakose et. al, 2022 ).…”

“…Corona virus is a highly contagious pandemic disease that was initially discovered on 31 December 2019 in China, Wuhan province ( World Health Organization [WHO], 2020a ) and was officially declared as a global pandemic by the WHO in March 2020 ( Karakos et. al.2022 ).…”

“…The UN report further emphasized that 94% of learners worldwide were affected by the pandemic, representing 1.58 billion children and youth in 200 countries by mid of April 2020. Another negative consequence of the pandemic is that many students have been forced to continue their education online from home following the physical closure of schools and face-to-face lessons ( Karakose et al, 2022 ; Mochida et. al 2021 )…”

“…On the other hand, closed schools are reopening everywhere. In these circumstances, proper the implementation of Covid-19 protection protocols during learning & teaching in schools is of paramount importance since school stakeholders play a key role in the continuation of teaching-learning throughout the epidemic, have undertaken essential responsibilities ( Karakose et. al, 2022 ).…”

Credibility and Involvement of Social Media in Education—Recommendations for Mitigating the Negative Effects of the Pandemic among High School Students

“…Children and young people remain the most vulnerable group in terms of considerations and recommendations to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic on a regional and global scale [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Especially for today’s young people (high school and university students or young workers), a small intensification of risk factors has been seen (social anxiety, loneliness, procrastination, presence of psychotic symptoms, addiction to the internet and computer games, increased use of alcohol and psychotropic substances) [ 6 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. The potential reversion of years of progress in access to education due to closures of schools worldwide is also proving to be a problem.…”