Abstract
In early 2020, school closures were implemented globally to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Africa, emergency remote teaching was not sustainable, and conventional teaching resumed in the context of the second and third waves of the pandemic, heightening fear and anxiety about infection among teachers. The pandemic necessitated shifts in the scope of a teacher’s job, potentially impacting their professional identity and job satisfaction. This study investigated the interrelationship between teaching identification, teaching satisfaction, fear of COVID-19 and perceived vulnerability to disease among a sample of South African school teachers (n = 355). A serial mediation analysis supported the hypotheses that teaching identification mediated both the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and teacher satisfaction and the association between perceived vulnerability to disease, fear of COVID-19 and teacher satisfaction. The findings suggest that teacher identification is a potential protective factor, and strengthening professional identification can potentially assist teachers as they negotiate the uncertainty and stress associated with the current pandemic.
Highlights
Since 2020, in order to curb the spread of COVID-19, governments around the world have implemented a range of physical distancing and other protective measures recommended by the World Health Organization [1,2]
The current study aims to expand the knowledge base in this area by investigating the interrelationship between teaching identification, teaching satisfaction, fear of COVID-19 and perceived vulnerability to disease among a sample of South African school teachers
The study findings underscore the importance of teacher identification in mediating the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and teacher satisfaction and the association between perceived vulnerability to disease, fear of COVID19 and teacher satisfaction
Summary
Since 2020, in order to curb the spread of COVID-19, governments around the world have implemented a range of physical distancing and other protective measures recommended by the World Health Organization [1,2]. School closure and suspension of face-to-face teaching was one of the most consistently applied strategies globally to mitigate the pandemic, and this strategy necessitated an abrupt shift from traditional classroombased instruction to emergency remote teaching [3]. Teachers were required to rapidly learn virtual instruction pedagogy and master the use of digital technologies [3–6]. The challenges associated with remote teaching were aggravated by varying levels of access to digital technology among learners, differing levels of parental involvement and support for online learning and teachers’ competing responsibilities, including home schooling for their own children, caring for elderly or vulnerable family members and balancing domestic and professional responsibilities [7,8]. Necessary to promote the continuity of education during the pandemic, has entailed significant shifts in the scope of a teacher’s job, which can potentially impact professional identity and job satisfaction [9]
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