Put the Mask on Yourself First: Work-related Wellbeing of Preschool Teachers in the "New Normal

Authors : Şeyda Karan, Meryem Gülhan, Yeliz Menteşe, Şebnem Çetken

Pages : 180-193

View : 25 | Download : 11

Publication Date : 2022-10-31

Article Type : Research

Abstract :This single case study explores the preschool teachers’ work-related wellbeing regarding their satisfaction in adapting to the working conditions from the first incidence of the Covid-19 pandemic to recovery times in the "New Normal.” Teachers recruited as participants were eight preschool teachers working in private institutional preschools in İstanbul and Ankara. Data elicited from in-depth semi-structured interviews were analyzed in the cycling process, including the open, inductive, and deductive coding steps. Based on participants’ reflections, the pandemic’s timeline was divided into two splits: The first shock response and preparedness, as well as the recovery times. Following this timeline, the emergent indicators defining work-related wellbeing moved from negative to more positive as time passed. Situated within the socio-ecological framework, data analysis showed that preschool teachers’ wellbeing during the pandemic was affected by internal and external factors shaping personal and working life. Overall results pointed out that, before striving only for job requirements, teachers need to become capable of supporting their wellbeing in all layers of life by putting the masks on themselves first.
Keywords : Work-related wellbeing, preschool teacher, covid-19 pandemic, new normal, socio-ecological framework