Consequences of COVID19 in education: levels of mental load of teachers in the development of emergency remote teaching

Abstract

The closure of all educational centers due to COVID-19 has meant the re-adaptation of the teaching-learning process to a new context of Remote Emergency Education (REE). As a result, teachers have had to respond to the many difficulties that this situation has caused for students and their families. In this study, the objective is to analyze how this new way of teaching has affected their level of mental workload, that is, their capacity to efficiently face the demands imposed by REE with respect to normal conditions. 4,589 teachers from the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, from all educational stages, participate in the research. From the results, it can be seen that the teaching staff has presented an overload and mental fatigue during confinement which has generated, above all, frustration and anxiety. The complexity of the situation has led to difficulties in managing time, mental over-exertion in responding to demands and a decrease in perceived performance. In addition, the mental overload of women has been greater than that of men, as well as that of older teachers. Understanding mental fatigue as an occupational risk factor, these results highlight the need to take measures to prevent teachers' mental overload or fatigue in future exceptional situations such as the emergency caused by COVID-19.