Teachers under stress during the COVID-19: cultural differences

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 presented an unexpected event that had an immediate effect on education systems. Teachers had to make a sudden shift in their practice and adjust to this surprising and uncontrollable event. The present study explored teachers’ reactions to the COVID-19 in terms of their stress response, focusing on the possible differences between Jewish and Arab teachers in Israel due to their cultural background. Nine hundred twenty-nine teachers (484 Jewish and 445 Arab teachers) completed an online survey. Using a mixed method design with a survey that included both closed and open-ended questions. Data analysis revealed that teachers in Israel were moderately stressed during this period, with Arab teachers reporting significantly higher levels of stress than did Jewish teachers. Jewish teachers were stressed mainly by personal stressors, whereas Arab teachers were stressed mainly by factors related to their professional role and by environmental factors. Arab teachers were more concerned with the reactions of school principals, Ministry of Education, and the general public than Jewish teachers, who were more concerned with uncertainty regarding the present and the future. Potential implications of the study address the importance of adapting differential solutions to support teachers according to cultural, social, and personal characteristics.

KEYWORDS:

• Teachers
• stress
• COVID-19
• culture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Israeli Ministry of science under Grant number 100008274Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology[Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology 1122];

Notes on contributors

Moran Zadok Boneh

Moran Zadok Boneh, MA, art therapist since 2013. Moran works mainly in schools with children, adolescents and teachers. She is interested in the teacher-student relationship, from the point of view of attachment theory, and its impact on the mental well-being of the teacher and students.

Rinat Feniger-Schaal

Rinat Feniger-Schaal, Ph,D., is a senior lecturer and a researcher at the school of creative arts therapies and leading the Master’s program for dramatherapy and psychodrama at the University of Haifa, Israel. She is also a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Child Development. Dr. Feniger Schaal holds a master’s in Psychoanalytic Developmental Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology. Her main research interests are children with developmental psychopathologies and typically developed children, and the different setting and environmental factors that contribute to children’s development, including, parents, teachers, families and peers.

Tali Aviram Bivas

Tali Aviram Bivas, MA, art therapist since 2011 and a supervisor. Her public work in the last 10 years is mainly in elementary and mid schools working both with students and teachers. In addition, she holds a private clinic, working with children, adolescents and parents. Her main research interest is student-teacher relationships.

Alexandra Danial-Saad

Alexandra Danial-Saad, Ph,D., is a lecturer and researcher in the Dept. of Occupational Therapy in university of Haifa and the Academic Arab College for Education in Israel - Haifa. She is specialist in implementation of assistive technology in the health and education fields, focusing on multicultural and multidiscipline cooperation. In addition, a main emphasis of her research is placed on professional development and mentoring, trying to gain better insight into cultural aspects and awareness using mixed methodology methods (quantitative and qualitative).