Worry About COVID-19 and Other Extreme Events Amongst Educators in Australia

Abstract

The significant disruption of COVID-19 on schooling has heightened concerns about its impact on educators’ wellbeing. The current study examined how educators’ worry regarding the COVID-19 pandemic compared to their worry about other extreme events, such as natural disasters and critical incidents (a death or suicide of a child, young person, or colleague). Educators report that they were most worried about COVID-19. Educators working in preschools were more worried about COVID-19 and natural disasters than those in primary and secondary schools. However, worry regarding critical incidents increased with the age of students taught. Worry was influenced by socio-economic advantage (SEIFA), whereby educators working in higher SEIFA communities were less worried about natural disasters and critical incidents but shared similar levels of worry about COVID-19 as educators in lower SEIFA communities. With a better understanding about how different types of worry and levels of worry vary across different educator groups and different contexts, more effective supports can be developed and offered.