Teaching in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study on Teachers’ Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy in an Italian Sample

Stefania Cataudella, Stefano Mariano Carta, Maria Lidia Mascia, Carmelo Masala, Donatella Rita Petretto, Mirian Agus and Maria Pietronilla Penna
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Stefania Cataudella: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, Faculty of Humanistic Studies, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Stefano Mariano Carta: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, Faculty of Humanistic Studies, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Maria Lidia Mascia: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, Faculty of Humanistic Studies, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Carmelo Masala: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, Faculty of Humanistic Studies, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Donatella Rita Petretto: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, Faculty of Humanistic Studies, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Mirian Agus: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, Faculty of Humanistic Studies, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Maria Pietronilla Penna: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, Faculty of Humanistic Studies, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-14

Abstract: The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teachers, particularly on their self-esteem and self-efficacy, their difficulty in the transition to distance learning, the difficulty of students, and specially of students with learning disabilities (LDs students), as perceived by teachers. 226 teachers were invited to complete an online questionnaire. Our results showed lower self-esteem and lower self-efficacy by the teachers compared with the normative sample. Self-esteem and self-efficacy also decrease in teachers with greater service seniority at work. Teachers perceived a greater difficulty in students than in their own difficulty. The concentration of the school system’s efforts on the massive and, for long periods, exclusive organisation of distance learning risks favouring only cognitive aspects to the detriment of affective dynamics. This aspect could make teaching more complex for teachers and learning poorer for students, impoverishing the complex relational process that forms the basis of the learning process.

Keywords: teaching; self-esteem; self-efficacy; learning disabilities; distance learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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