The Decline in Teacher Working Conditions during and after the COVID Pandemic. EdWorkingPaper No. 24-1000

Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.annenberginstitute.org

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Teaching Conditions; Work Environment; Pandemics; COVID-19; Teacher Attitudes; Behavior Problems; Student Behavior; School Safety; Trust (Psychology); Principals; Teacher Administrator Relationship; Peer Relationship; School Districts; Online Courses; Distance Education; Job Satisfaction; Self Efficacy; Enrollment Trends; Student Characteristics; Socioeconomic Status; Poverty; Comparative Analysis; Race; Ethnicity; Institutional Characteristics; Teacher Surveys; Elementary Secondary Education

We study changes to teacher working conditions from 2016-17 to 2022-23, covering school years before, during, and after the COVID pandemic. We show working conditions were improving leading into the pandemic but declined when the pandemic arrived. Perhaps more surprisingly, the pandemic was not a low point: teacher working conditions have continued to decline during the post-pandemic period. Teachers report worsening working conditions along many dimensions including the level of classroom disruptions, student responsibility, and safety, among others. They also report declines in trust between themselves and principals, parents, and other teachers. Trends in working conditions since the pandemic are similar in schools serving more and less socioeconomically advantaged students. However, schools in districts where online learning was the predominant mode of instruction during the 2020-21 school year have experienced larger declines than other schools.

As Provided

2024

ED656440