How does the remote work environment impact teachers’ mental health and well-being in a K–12 online school? An explanatory sequential mixed methods study.

Mcconnell, Amy C., 1986-

How does the remote work environment impact teachers’ mental health and well-being in a K–12 online school? An explanatory sequential mixed methods study.

dc.contributor.advisor	Sloan, Amy M.
dc.creator	Mcconnell, Amy C., 1986-
dc.date.accessioned	2024-07-17T14:02:51Z
dc.date.available	2024-07-17T14:02:51Z
dc.date.created	2023-08
dc.date.issued	2023-08
dc.date.submitted	August 2023
dc.date.updated	2024-07-17T14:02:51Z
dc.description.abstract	Online school systems and school administrators do not place enough emphasis on the mental health and well-being of their teachers. Mental health and well-being influence the efficacy of teachers’ instruction and the relationships they have with students. Educational success depends on the excellence of its teachers, and schools must intentionally support, motivate, and retain their qualified teachers. If school systems do not address the mental health or well-being of online teachers, the efficacy of instruction and support offered may decrease, and teachers can experience burnout and leave the profession. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study aimed to determine how the online teaching environment influences the mental health and well-being of teachers at an online K–12 school. Seligman’s (2011) well-being theory guided this study which included three phases. The first phase of data collection included a confidential quantitative survey using the Teacher Subjective Wellbeing Survey (Renshaw et al., 2015) and the PERMA Profiler (Butler & Kern, 2016) to determine if there was a statistical significance in teacher’s well-being for teachers who have taught less than two years compared to teachers who have taught more than two years. The second phase of data collection included semi-structured interviews with five participants who currently teach at Digital Academy. The interview questions aligned with the well-being theory and allowed participants to contribute insight as to how their role as an online teacher influences their mental health and well-being. The third phase integrated the quantitative and qualitative data and provided a comprehensive understanding of teachers’ mental health and well-being as it related to the TSWQ and PERMA Profiler scores. The results of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study indicated that teachers who taught at Digital Academy for less than two years had a statistically significant difference in well-being as it related to the PERMA Profiler compared to their counterparts. This study also indicated that all participants experience stress and anxiety due to the isolative nature of the online work environment. However, all participants further reported that the positive aspects associated with the online work environment outweigh any negative feelings they experienced.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/2104/12804
dc.language.iso	English
dc.rights.accessrights	Worldwide access
dc.title	How does the remote work environment impact teachers’ mental health and well-being in a K–12 online school? An explanatory sequential mixed methods study.
dc.type	Thesis
dc.type.material	text
thesis.degree.department	Baylor University. Dept. of Curriculum & Instruction.
thesis.degree.grantor	Baylor University
thesis.degree.name	Ed.D.
thesis.degree.program	Learning & Organizational Change
thesis.degree.school	Baylor University