Meaning in Life, Anxiety and Self-Efficacy of Teachers during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic brought drastic changes in the educational field, causing stress and, consequently, the need for teachers to find psychological resources to cope with it. Thus, meaning in life was studied as such a resource and, in particular, its ability to predict, along with anxiety, teachers' self-efficacy under the adverse conditions of the pandemic. The study included 223 primary school teachers. The results showed that presence of meaning was negatively correlated with anxiety related to Covid-19 and general anxiety, while search for meaning was positively correlated only with Covid-19 related anxiety. Also, the presence (but not the search for meaning) was correlated with teachers’ self-efficacy under the school conditions of the pandemic. Next, the prediction of teachers' self-efficacy by the aforementioned parameters was examined. Multiple regression analysis indicated that self-efficacy was predicted only by the presence of meaning, highlighting its importance in coping with similar challenges and crises.