School Leadership Assessment of Teachers’ Work-Life Balance: Perceptions and Professional Learning Needs During a Global Health Pandemic

Authors

Juliann Sergi McBrayer, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow
Summer Pannell, Stephen F. Austin State UniversityFollow
Alissa Sasser, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow
Katherine Fallon, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow
Katarina Evans, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow

Short Title

School Leadership Assessment of Teachers’ Work-Life Balance

Keywords

Work-life balance, pandemic, Covid-19, teaching and learning, online learning, school leadership, professional learning

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to better understand the work-life balance of educators teaching students during the Covid-19 health pandemic. Teachers face a multitude of challenges during this unprecedented time with a rapid shift from traditional face-to-face class to online learning resulting in a cyclical phenomenon for many teachers as schools have shifted back and forth between virtual and in-person settings in response to constantly changing coronavirus messaging. The findings identified three overarching themes related to teachers’ needs including Boundaries with Time and Commitments, Mentally Processing Daily Stressors, and Healthy Lifestyle. Implications for practice denote that school leaders need to evaluate the current level of support provided to teachers and assess areas of need to provide professional learning that is purposeful, collaborative, and sustainable. Further research is encouraged to engage in additional conversations via interviews and focus groups about the challenges faced by teachers to better understand their needs during this “new normal”, which is pertinent to stabilizing the teacher workforce as schools face increasing teacher discontentment and teacher attrition, which is even more compounded during this pandemic.

Recommended Citation

McBrayer, Juliann Sergi; Pannell, Summer; Sasser, Alissa; Fallon, Katherine; and Evans, Katarina (2022) "School Leadership Assessment of Teachers’ Work-Life Balance: Perceptions and Professional Learning Needs During a Global Health Pandemic," School Leadership Review: Vol. 17: Iss. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/slr/vol17/iss1/3