The disruptive impact of COVID-19 on relationships in Irish primary schools: key issues

Abstract

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic is an event that will be written about in history, given its impact on life across the globe, on ways of working, on mortality rates and on day to day living. How schools undertook their work changed across the pandemic, as school buildings both in Ireland and across the world closed for long periods of time. In this timeframe, school communities adapted to online teaching and learning using a variety of platforms to support this. The impact of the pandemic on principal and teacher wellbeing is the subject of this research paper. Findings of a small-scale, mixed-methods study involving semi-structured interviews and the completion of two questionnaires undertaken with 21 Irish primary school principals and teachers are presented. The findings indicate a number of emerging issues for the school community relating to relationships, communication and support and the digital divide. Implications for teacher wellbeing are considered and recommendations for policy and practice relating to teacher wellbeing in particular are made.