A longitudinal qualitative exploration of teachers' experiences of stress and well-being during COVID-19

Teachers, a population already vulnerable to high stress, experienced heightened demands, and reduced resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. This longitudinal study utilized inductive thematic analysis to explore 241 K-12 teachers' qualitative accounts of stressors, supports, and pandemic-specific impacts through their responses to three open-ended questions. Responses were collected across 5 months. Three domains emerged: demands (e.g., navigating hybrid learning), resources (e.g., helpful teaching teams), and pandemic-related outcomes (e.g., burnout), along with 12 themes. Demands were the most frequently endorsed domain across the months, speaking to the diverse challenges teachers encountered during this stressful time. Resources were less frequently mentioned, yet signaled opportunities for intervention. Results suggest important implications for how teachers experienced pandemic teaching, such as lasting impacts on well-being, and suggestions to improve future stress and crisis response. Teachers experienced new demands, fluctuating stressors, limited resources, and exacerbated stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the most frequently reported resources to reduce teachers' stress included colleague support, online instructional tools, clear communication from administration, and supports for student well-being. Teachers experienced a variety of health impacts that appeared to affect their physical, emotional, and mental well-being, which may have longer term implications on their personal and professional lives.