Promoting teaching and non-teaching school staff resilience post-COVID pandemic

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Occupational Health
• Mental Health Interventions

Background:

• School staff mental health and resilience are crucial for educational environments.
• Professional development programs offer a pathway to support educators and staff wellbeing.
• The Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE) program was implemented to address these needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of the CARE professional development program on key mental health and resilience indicators for school teaching and non-teaching staff.
• To assess changes in sense of efficacy, burnout, anxiety, depression, and perceived stress among participants.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study design was employed.
• Participants (N=53) included teachers and non-teaching staff from North Carolina school districts.
• Validated scales (e.g., Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, GAD-7, PHQ-8, PSS) were used for pre-intervention, one-week post-intervention, and two-month post-intervention assessments.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed across all participants in sense of efficacy, emotional exhaustion, anxiety, and depression post-intervention.
• Perceived stress decreased at one week post-intervention.
• Teachers demonstrated more pronounced improvements in mental health and resilience indicators compared to non-teaching staff.

Conclusions:

• The CARE program effectively enhanced school staff's sense of self-efficacy and reduced symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress.
• The findings highlight the program's positive impact on overall mental wellbeing and resilience in educational settings.
• Targeted interventions like CARE are valuable for supporting the mental health of school personnel.