| Abstract |
Background: During the pandemic, teachers became one of the most challenged groups of workers. Forced to adapt in a short period of time to new ways of working that include social distancing in classrooms, hybrid teaching and virtual instruction, the literature reports increased stress levels, communication difficulties and a lack of administrative support. This may have greater effects on their mental health, such as chronic stress, depression and burnout.
Aim: This postgraduate thesis attempted to investigate the existing levels of stress, depression and burnout in a representative sample of teachers in Crete (primary education).
Methods: This is a mixed methodology study (quantitative and qualitative). The sampling in the quantitative study was stratified randomized and the sample consisted of 393 teachers and more specifically, with proportions per Prefecture: 189 Heraklion, 51 Lasithi, 60 Rethymno, 89 Chania. Three scales measuring stress, depression and burnout (PSS-14, DASS-21, MBI) were used. In the qualitative study, convenience sampling (non-probabilistic) was applied and two focus groups of 6-8 people each were conducted. Statistical analysis was performed in IBM SPSS 26.00, with all tests being two-sided and a significance level of α = 0.05. The variables followed a normal distribution (Pvalue > 0.05) according to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and thus the parametric tests Pearson's r and Independent Samples T-test were applied. A thematic analysis was done for the qualitative study.
Results: Anxiety among teachers was at high levels (mean = 37.72, standard deviation (s.d.) = 5.27), depression was measured at normal levels (mean = 5.79, s.d. = 5.09), emotional exhaustion in medium to high (mean = 20.88, s.d. = 11.57), depersonalization at low (mean = 5.41, s.d. = 4.72) and personal achievements (mean = 28.45, s.d. = 8.77). Also, a moderate positive correlation was found between anxiety - depression (r = 0.551, Pvalue < 0.001) and anxiety - emotional exhaustion (r = 0.562, Pvalue = 0.02). Depression showed a strong positive correlation with emotional exhaustion (r = 0.811, Pvalue < 0.001), a moderate positive correlation with depersonalization (r = 0.542, Pvalue < 0.001), and a negative moderate correlation with personal achievements (r = -0.524, Pvalue = 0.04). From the qualitative research, it appeared that the pandemic had a negative impact on their mental health, specifically on the increase in anxiety, stress, burnout and, in general, the psychological and physical burden. The increase in the feeling of fear, anxiety and stress, the physical and mental fatigue, the crisis of the teachers' roles, the lack of support from the Ministry and the competent decision-makers, the absence of guidelines at the time of need and timely training in the new technological means were some of the most frequent problems they faced and which they recognize as the main causes of the increase in their mental health burden due to the pandemic. Conclusions: According to the findings of the present study, the immediate need for taking measures, implementing interventions and supporting mechanisms for primary school teachers became evident. Their own suggestions can also be taken into account in this design.
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