The impact of risk and protective factors on online teaching experience in high school Italian teachers during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

The lockdown due to COVID‐19 in Italy resulted in the sudden closure of schools, with a shift from traditional teaching to the online one. Through an online questionnaire, this survey explores teachers' experience of online teaching, the level of risk factors (e.g., stress) and protective factors (e.g., locus of control) and their impact on satisfaction levels during the social distancing. One hundred seven high school teachers from Lombardy, an Italian region very affected by the COVID‐19 outbreak, participated. Results show that depression and stress are the main predictors of satisfaction levels for online teaching. In addition, coping, locus of control and self‐efficacy emerge as important protective factors. Finally, although there is great satisfaction with the online teaching experience, critical elements emerged. This study is relevant because it describes the critical elements of the online teaching experience, and identifies some protective factors and the main risk factors in teachers operating in an area strongly marked by social restrictions imposed by the pandemic. High school teachers emerge as a sub‐group of the general population with specific psychological reactions. Considering the results, it is possible to suggest providing high‐quality educational support and crisis‐psychological oriented services to teachers, and help to maintain the psychological well‐being.

The Effect of Primary and Middle School Teachers’ Problematic Internet Use and Fear of COVID-19 on Psychological Need Thwarting of Online Teaching and Psychological Distress

“…One potential issue related to online teaching is the role of problematic Internet use (PIU). In evaluating risk and protective factors related to the online teaching experience of Italian high school teachers during COVID-19, Truzoli et al [ 17 ] noted some excessive time spent online, consistent with PIU in the general population. PIU is characterized by addictive behaviors, such as preoccupation (salience), changes in mood, development of tolerance (and the need for increased amounts of online activity), withdrawal effects, interpersonal conflicts resulting from online use, and relapse following a period of abstinence [ 18 ].…”

Primary School Physical Education at the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Could Online Teaching Undermine Teachers’ Self-Efficacy and Work Engagement?

“…Pedagogical continuity was only possible employing various digital tools and resources, approaching the teaching in a novel and innovative way. Recent studies conducted in the Italian context showed that teachers reacted to prevent the collapse of the education system [3], and although the sudden shift from face-to-face to online teaching impeded teachers from proper planning, they generally reported high satisfaction with Sustainability 2021, 13, 9830 2 of 9 the new teaching conditions [4].This disruptive situation permeated the education system as a whole, but Physical Education (PE) was particularly subjected to the necessity to be re-thought and re-designed [5,6]. PE has traditionally been considered a practical subject, in which proximity, physical contact, and bodily communication are common characteristics.…”

“We Will Appreciate Each Other More After This”: Teachers' Construction of Collective and Personal Identities During Lockdown

“…Strategies of developing and sustaining social support in order to alleviate stress appear to be more common amongst women rather than men (Taylor, 2011 ); this is in line with research which has identified maladaptive and avoidant coping strategies as more often practiced by males in response to stress, whereas females will more often use adaptive coping strategies (Gentry et al, 2007 ; Adasi et al, 2020 ). Studies have identified this gendered pattern in teachers' responses to the pandemic (Klapproth et al, 2020 ; Truzoli et al, 2021 ). As three quarters of the teaching population in England are female (Gov.uk, 2020 ), it would therefore be expected that developing and maintaining social support networks would be a prominent coping strategy to manage stress amongst teachers working in this context.…”