Strategies to Cope with Teachers’ Stress During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: A South Africa Case Study
Thanduxolo Nomtshongwana 
, Andrea Mqondiso Buka and Nozuko Nqabeni
Issue: Vol.4 No.5 May 2023 Article 10 pp.611-623
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202345310 | Published online 17th May, 2023
© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This article focuses on how teachers are coping with stress in their schools during and after COVID-19. Teachers’ work by nature is stressful having to deal with various aspects such as ensuring that lesson notes are completed, students are performing as they should, and handling paperwork. This is combined with the lack of necessary resources to work efficiently. In their line of duty, teachers also face the dilemma of handling problematic behaviours of certain learners and there is a lot of work that must be done to protect teachers. The study adopted an interpretivism paradigm using the Social Cognitive Theory in which thematically analysed data was collected through interviews from 15 purposely selected participants from Chris Hani East Education in South Africa (CHEDE). The analysis of data revealed that learners are using drugs, which leads to a change in their behaviour at school, something that negatively affects the learning process and the teachers themselves. It also emerged from the data analysis that teachers have a lot of paperwork to deal with, with insufficient resources, teachers can use, especially during the time of COVID-19. This study found that teachers used WhatsApp groups, church services, and family support to cope with stress during COVID-19. The article recommends that the Department of Basic Education employs security measures to handle safety and protect students and teachers from the effect of illicit drug usage on the premises of schools which increases the stress levels of teachers. New programmes and policies must be formulated to equip students with enough knowledge about the danger of using drugs. The Department of Basic Education must also supply all schools with devices that can be used by teachers for online teaching and learning to facilitate learning.
Keywords: Teachers’ Stress, Stressors, Anxiety, Burnout, Alarm, and Frustration
Bakker, Arnold B, Michael P Leiter, and Christina Maslach. Burnout at Work: A Psychological Perspective. Psychology Press, 2014.
Bandura, Albert. Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York, NY, US: W H Freeman/Times Books/ Henry Holt & Co, 1997.
Boyce, Carolyn, and Palena Neale. Conducting In-Depth Interviews: A Guide for Designing and Conducting In-Depth Interviews for Evaluation Input. Vol. 2. Pathfinder International Watertown, MA, 2006.
Brown, Sheila. Understanding Youth and Crime: Listening to Youth? McGraw-Hill Education (UK), 2005.
Buka, Andrea Mqondiso, and Jacob Maisha Molepo. “A Psycho-Pedagogic Approach for Inclusive Classes in Disadvantaged Rural Primary Schools in South Africa: Advancing Teaching Practices.” International Journal of Educational Sciences 12, no. 1 (January 25, 2016): 38–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/09751122.2016.11890410.
Collie, Rebecca J. “Perceived Social-Emotional Competence: A Multidimensional Examination and Links with Social-Emotional Motivation and Behaviors.” Learning and Instruction 82 (December 2022): 101656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2022.101656.
Cooley, Elizabeth, and Paul Yovanoff. “Supporting Professionals-at-Risk: Evaluating Interventions to Reduce Burnout and Improve Retention of Special Educators.” Exceptional Children 62, no. 4 (1996): 336–55.
Dayimani, Malibongwe. “Principal, Deputy Die of Covid-19 at Eastern Cape School .” News24, November 3, 2020. https://www.news24.com/news24/SouthAfrica/News/principal-deputy-die-of-covid-19-at-eastern-cape-school-20201103.
Francia, Guadalupe, and Silvia Edling. “Children’s Rights and Violence: A Case Analysis at a Swedish Boarding School.” Childhood 24, no. 1 (February 24, 2017): 51–67. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568216634063.
Govender, P, and J Bornman. “Provinces Fail to Fund Poorest Pupils.” Sunday Times, 2013, 4.
Guglielmi, R Sergio, and Kristin Tatrow. “Occupational Stress, Burnout, and Health in Teachers: A Methodological and Theoretical Analysis.” Review of Educational Research 68, no. 1 (1998): 61–99.
Hayley, Kevin, J Schumacher, G J MacMillan, and L C Boutin. “Highly Parameterized Model Calibration with Cloud Computing: An Example of Regional Flow Model Calibration in Northeast Alberta, Canada.” Hydrogeology Journal 22, no. 3 (2014): 729.
Hodges, Bonni C, and Donna M Videto. Assessment and Planning in Health Programs. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2010.
Hodges, Charles B, Stephanie L Moore, Barbara B Lockee, Torrey Trust, and Mark Aaron Bond. “The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning.” Educational Review, 2020.
Israel, M. “From Chaos to Coherence: Managing Stress While Teaching.” Education World–Connecting Educators to What Works, 2015.
Kajiita, Robert Mutemi, Thanduxolo Nomtshongwana, and Simon Murote Kang’ethe. “The ‘Revolution’on Teaching and Learning: Implications of COVID-19 on Social Work Education in Institutions of Higher Learning in Africa.” African Journal of Social Work 10, no. 3 (2020): 25–33.
Khoza, Amanda. “Burning Schools Undermines Right to Basic Education.” SAHRC | News24, 2016. https://www.news24.com/News24/burning-schools-undermines-right-to-basic-education-sahrc-20160505.
Kipps-Vaughan, Debi. “Supporting Teachers through Stress Management.” The Education Digest 79, no. 1 (2013): 43.
Kulikowski, Konrad, Sylwia Przytuła, and Łukasz Sułkowski. “E‐learning? Never Again! On the Unintended Consequences of COVID‐19 Forced E‐learning on Academic Teacher Motivational Job Characteristics.” Higher Education Quarterly 76, no. 1 (2022): 174–89.
Lebow, Jay L., Anthony L. Chambers, Andrew Christensen, and Susan M. Johnson. “Research on the Treatment of Couple Distress.” Journal of Marital and Family Therapy 38, no. 1 (January 2012): 145–68. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2011.00249.x.
Leedy, Paul D, and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod. Practical Research. Vol. 108. Pearson Custom Saddle River, NJ, USA, 2005.
LePine, Jeffrey A, Marcie A LePine, and Christine L Jackson. “Challenge and Hindrance Stress: Relationships with Exhaustion, Motivation to Learn, and Learning Performance.” Journal of Applied Psychology 89, no. 5 (2004): 883.
MacIntyre, Peter D, Tammy Gregersen, and Sarah Mercer. “Language Teachers’ Coping Strategies during the Covid-19 Conversion to Online Teaching: Correlations with Stress, Wellbeing and Negative Emotions.” System 94 (2020): 102352.
Maclean, Ruth, and Abdi Latif Dahir. “Nigeria Responds to First Coronavirus Case in Sub-Saharan Africa.” The New York Times 28 (2020).
Makhubu, Ntando. “Gang War at Pretoria School.” IOL, 2013. https://www.iol.co.za/news/gang-war-at-pretoria-school-1590396.
Maree, J G. “Career Construction Counseling with a Mid‐career Black Man.” The Career Development Quarterly 64, no. 1 (2016): 20–34.
Maree, Jacobus G. “Research on Life Design in (South) Africa: A Qualitative Analysis.” South African Journal of Psychology 45, no. 3 (2015): 332–48.
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Positive Thinking: Reduce Stress by Eliminating Negative Self-Talk .” Mayo Clinic, February 3, 2022. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-20043950.
———. “Sleep Tips: 6 Steps to Better Sleep.” Mayo Clinic, May 7, 2022. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/sleep/art-20048379.
Mtika, Peter. “Trainee Teachers’ Experiences of Teaching Practicum: Issues, Challenges, and New Possibilities.” Africa Education Review 8, no. 3 (2011): 551–67.
Nadeem, Mohammad, Musarrat Shaheen Rana, Abdul Hameed Lone, Saira Maqbool, Khansa Naz, and Akhtar Ali. “Teacher’s Competencies and Factors Affecting the Performance of Female Teachers in Bahawalpur (Southern Punjab) Pakistan.” International Journal of Business and Social Science 2, no. 19 (2011): 217–22.
Naidu, Edwin. “Motshekga Reveals 1345 Hot Spots for School Violence,” 2019. https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/motshekga-reveals-1345-hot-spots-for-school-violence-33013557.
Ngidi, David P, and Patrick T Sibaya. “Student Teacher Anxieties Related to Practice Teaching.” South African Journal of Education 23, no. 1 (2003): 18–22.
Nomtshongwana, Thanduxolo Albert. “Stressful Experiences of Primary School Teachers in One Education District: A South African Case Study,” PhD Thesis, Walter Sisulu University, 2019.
Parker, Sharon K. “Beyond Motivation: Job and Work Design for Development, Health, Ambidexterity, and More.” Annual Review of Psychology 65 (2014): 661–91.
Ross, Michael L. “What Have We Learned about the Resource Curse?” Annual Review of Political Science 18 (2015): 239–59.
Sprenger, Jeff. Stress and Coping Behaviors among Primary School Teachers. East Carolina University, 2011.
Talidong, Karen Joy B, and Cathy Mae D Toquero. “Philippine Teachers’ Practices to Deal with Anxiety amid COVID-19.” Journal of Loss and Trauma 25, no. 6–7 (2020): 573–79.
Thozama, Maqoqa. “Experiences of Teachers in Large Classes in Selected Schools in the Libode Education District of South Africa.” Walter Sisulu University , 2017.
Wang, Cuiyan, Riyu Pan, Xiaoyang Wan, Yilin Tan, Linkang Xu, Cyrus S. Ho, and Roger C. Ho. “Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 5 (March 6, 2020): 1729. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051729.
Thanduxolo Nomtshongwana is a Doctor Education student at the Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. He is also a fulltime professional teacher in Department of Basic Education, Eastern Cape, South Africa. His research focuses on teachers’ stress and education leadership and management.
Andrea Mqondiso Buka is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Education in the continuing professional teacher development at Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. His research focuses on inclusive education and educational management and policy, especial psychopedagogical research.
Nozuko Nqabeni is a Part-time Lecturer at Walter Sisulu University in the Department of Adult Foundation Phase and Educational Foundations, Faculty of Educational Sciences. She is currently enrolled for a PhD in Mathematics Education with the University of the Free State, South Africa.
Nomtshongwana, T.A., Buka, A.M. & Nqabeni N. “Strategies to Cope with Teachers’ Stress During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: A South Africa Case Study.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 4, no.5 (2023): 611-623. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20234510
© 2023 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
