The Impact of COVID-19 Process on Sustainability in Education: Work Alienation of Physical Education and Sports Teachers

Abstract

This study aimed to examine physical education teachers’ perceptions of work alienation in Turkey according to different variables (including gender, marital status, school level, availability of a gym in the school, age, and years of service) during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected sustainability in education on a global scale. The study employed the survey method and research data were collected from 442 volunteer physical education teachers working in different provinces of Turkey through the “Physical Education Teachers’ Alienation to Work Scale”. The results showed that physical education teachers had low levels of alienation in their work. The scale’s subdimensions ‘occupational isolation’ and ‘powerlessness’ indicated higher levels of work alienation compared to other subdimensions. Among teachers who had completed their graduate education, the level of work alienation was higher in the subdimensions ‘powerlessness’ and ‘occupational alienation’. Based on a comparison with prior research on sustainability in education, the COVID-19 pandemic could be said to have no significant impact on physical education teachers’ levels of work alienation. The cause of work alienation among physical education teachers was structural issues rather than specific time-bound events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.