ERIC Number: ED613590
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Job-Related Stress Threatens the Teacher Supply: Key Findings from the 2021 State of the U.S. Teacher Survey. Research Report. RR-A1108-1
Steiner, Elizabeth D.; Woo, Ashley
RAND Corporation
Teaching was a stressful occupation long before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic occurred; during the pandemic, it might have become even more stressful. Teachers are navigating unfamiliar technology, are balancing multiple modes of teaching, and have concerns about returning to in-person instruction. In addition, many teachers are caring for their own children while teaching. To explore the issue of job-related stress among teachers, the authors fielded a survey in January and February 2021 through RAND's American Teacher Panel. The results suggest that teachers have experienced many job-related stressors during the 2020-2021 academic year. Perhaps as a result, one in four teachers were considering leaving their job by the end of the school year -- more than in a typical pre-pandemic year and a higher rate than employed adults nationally. Black or African American teachers were particularly likely to plan to leave. Also, teachers were more likely to report experiencing frequent job-related stress and symptoms of depression than the general population. Stressful working conditions and increased personal responsibilities were more common among likely pandemic leavers (i.e., teachers who were unlikely to leave their jobs before the pandemic but who were likely to leave at the time of the survey). The experiences of these likely pandemic leavers were similar in many ways to those of teachers who left the profession after the start of the pandemic. These similarities suggest that likely pandemic leavers might decide to quit their jobs absent efforts to address challenging working conditions and support teacher well-being. [For the Technical Appendixes to this report, see ED613591.]
Descriptors: Teaching Conditions, Stress Variables, Teacher Persistence, Labor Turnover, COVID-19, Pandemics, Racial Differences, Ethnicity, Depression (Psychology), Teaching Methods, Health, Child Rearing, Teacher Burnout, School Closing, Educational Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Teacher Supply and Demand, Well Being, Blended Learning, Family Work Relationship, Immunization Programs, Coping, Technological Literacy, Safety, Disease Control, Access to Computers
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Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Education Association; American Federation of Teachers
Authoring Institution: RAND Education and Labor
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A