The worst is yet to come: the psychological impact of COVID-19 on Hong Kong music teachers

Abstract

The worst is yet to come: The psychological impact of COVID-19 on Hong Kong music teachersThe COVID-19 pandemic has made online and distance learning the new normal at all levels of education. Music as a school subject that relies heavily on multimodal sensory and auditory-motor interactions has been dramatically affected. Music teachers may not be coping mentally or psychologically with these drastic changes. This study examined the psychological impact of COVID-19 on music teachers' (N = 120) mental health and well-being through a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews (n = 10). The Fear of Coronavirus-19 Scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale and a shortened version of the Chinese Teacher Stress Questionnaire were used to measure Hong Kong music teachers' experiences of psychological pressure and problem behaviours linked to the outbreak of the infectious disease. The findings revealed that music teachers are experiencing stress, fear, and anxiety in response to the pandemic. They are concerned about the effectiveness of online music teaching, parental expectations, students' adaptability to online learning, technological integration and maintaining transformative teaching professionalism.

The Well-being and Instructional Experiences of K-12 Music Educators: Starting a New School Year During a Pandemic

“…In addition, 77% of these music teachers reported at least some level of Depression, with nearly a quarter (24%) of their scores falling into the severe or extremely severe classifications. Clearly, these music teachers were struggling and this is supported by the findings in emerging research (e.g., Cornett, 2020 ; Cheng and Lam 2021 ).…”

“…The well-being of music teachers in the United States has been examined with this model (Miksza et al, 2021;Parkes et al, 2021), and the findings indicated significantly lower levels of overall well-being, in addition to significantly higher levels of depression than published norms. Cheng and Lam (2021) studied the well-being of music teachers in Hong Kong. Some of the teachers (n = 20) in their sample were interviewed, whereas others (n = 120) completed a survey which included a Fear of Coronavirus-19 Scale, a Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and a Chinese Teacher Stress Questionnaire (short form).…”

“… Cheng and Lam (2021) studied the well-being of music teachers in Hong Kong. Some of the teachers ( n = 20) in their sample were interviewed, whereas others ( n = 120) completed a survey which included a Fear of Coronavirus-19 Scale, a Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and a Chinese Teacher Stress Questionnaire (short form).…”

“…Survey data were analyzed to identify psychological impacts and behaviors linked to the pandemic. Cheng and Lam (2021) found that Hong Kong teachers were not coping well with the pandemic-imposed changes. The findings showed that music teachers were experiencing discomfort, fear, nervousness, and anxiety in response to the pandemic.…”

Mindfulness as Moderator Against Emotional Exhaustion Due to Online Teaching During COVID-19 Pandemic: An Investigation Using Job Demands-Resources Model and Conservation of Resource Theory

“…Teaching is generally considered a highly stressful profession ( Harmsen et al, 2018 ), and the COVID-19 crisis has made things even worse ( Kumawat, 2020 ). Online teaching had a negative psychological impact on teachers, causing them to feel anxious, stressed, and depressed ( Cheng and Lam, 2021 ; Ozamiz-Etxebarria et al, 2021 ). Pressley (2021a) found that the antecedents to teacher burnout-stress were COVID-19 anxiety, current teaching anxiety, anxiety communicating with parents, and lack of administrative support.…”