The role of self-compassion in teachers’ psychological well-being in face-to-face and online teaching during COVID-19

Recent research shows worrying results concerning teachers’ psychological well-being. The challenges have further increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as it has forced teachers to rapidly change their teaching. In this quantitative study, we address the differences in schoolteachers’ experiences of face-to-face and online teaching during COVID-19 from the perspective of self-compassion (an important source of resilience when faced with life stressors and sudden changes) and teaching-related well-being. The teachers in one Finnish municipality (N=116) answered an electronic questionnaire measuring their self-compassion and teaching-related well-being (stress, burnout, self-efficacy) in face-to-face and online teaching contexts. Three teacher profiles were identified: (1) Self-compassionate teachers, (2) a mixed group reporting both self-compassion and self-criticism and (3) self-critical teachers. The results show that online teaching had challenged all teachers’ well-being, but the protective element of self-compassion was present in both contexts. Therefore, strengthening teachers’ self-compassion can be seen as a sustainable investment in the teachers’ well-being.