Repercussões do distanciamento social e das atividades laborais na qualidade de vida de docentes universitários em período de pandemia.

Abstract

In April 2020, the Ministry of Education suspended classroom activities due to the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, indicating the adoption of virtual classes. This research intends to explain the possible impacts of social distancing on the quality of life (QOL) of a sample of university professors, in addition to recording their difficulties and strengths in adapting activities to virtual teaching. Two questionnaires were sent to professors from four departments (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Education): the WHOQOL-Bref, validated by the WHO, in order to classify the QOL; and anothers about questions sociodemographic and open-ended question about their work activities. The data obtained (28 out of 94 possible respondents) were organized using Excel spreadsheets and also analyzed in a quantitative and qualitative way. As for QoL, the indices show that, in general, it was good (70.54 points, out of 100); that the professors of the Mathematics department had the lowest rates in all domains (64.01) and those of Chemistry the highest indicators (76.44); that the general values of women were below those of men in all domains, with the exception of social relationships (71.15). As for the difficulties with teaching activities, the professors highlighted: the decrease in interactions, less involvement of students with the objects of study; difficulty in finding ways to effectively assess remote activities, and in adapting activities and contents; in addition to more time spent in classes planning. As for the positive aspects that the remote activities provided, the professors point out the fact that the classes are not necessarily synchronous and the recordings are made available to the students; they also highlighted the facility for scheduling/carrying out joint meetings; and that the moment of crisis allowed opportunities to adopt new ways of working and, in a way, to rethink the pertinence/deepening of certain contents.