Date of Award
Spring 2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Committee Chair
Sydney Brown
Abstract
The study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elementary teachers' perceptions of their working conditions and immediate professional plans in North Carolina. It compared 2018, 2020, and 2024 data to identify differences in perceptions of the pandemic. Using a nonexperimental quantitative design, the study analyzed archived data from the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey (NCTWCS) obtained from the North Carolina Education Research Data Center (NCERDC). The survey data covered pre-COVID-19 (2018), during COVID-19 (2020), and post-COVID-19 (2024) periods. The analysis focused on eight constructs: time, community support and involvement, facilities and resources, managing student conduct, teacher leadership, school leadership, professional development, and instructional practices and support. Statistical methods included a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and chi-square tests. The study identified significant differences across the years for all eight constructs. Teacher perceptions of time consistently declined from 2018 to 2024. While perceptions of teacher leadership and school leadership decreased from 2018 to 2020, they improved from 2020 to 2024. Regarding facilities and resources, community support and involvement, managing student conduct, professional development, and instructional practices and support, perceptions were higher in 2020 than in 2018 but lower in 2024 than in 2020. Furthermore, there was a general decline in teachers' immediate professional plans, except for "continue teaching in my current school," which decreased from 2018 to 2020 and then increased from 2020 to 2024. The study recommends improving teacher working conditions in emergency and nonemergency situations and identifies areas for future research.
Recommended Citation
Pickett, Tieshia S., "An Analysis of Elementary Teacher Working Conditions and Retention in North Carolina During the Initial Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic" (2025). Doctor of Education Dissertations. 243.
https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/education-dissertations/243
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