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. 2024 Nov 13;14(1):27787.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-79418-8.

Effects of psychological need thwarting during COVID-19 remote instruction on Chinese, math, and EFL teachers' well-being and online teaching intentions

Jeffrey H Gamble #  1 , Hai-Min Li #  2   3 , Xiao-Ling Liao  4 , Cui-Hong Cao  5 , Xiu-Mei Chen  6 , I-Hua Chen  7
Affiliations

Effects of psychological need thwarting during COVID-19 remote instruction on Chinese, math, and EFL teachers' well-being and online teaching intentions

Jeffrey H Gamble et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic's "Great Online Transition" significantly impacted teachers. Existing research on Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) lacks longitudinal designs and consideration of subject-specific contexts. This study, using the Stressor-Strain-Outcome framework, investigates psychological needs thwarting (PNT) during ERT on teachers' well-being and online teaching intentions, considering subject of instruction as a potential factor.

Methods: Data were collected from 1,369 Chinese primary and middle school teachers of Chinese literature, mathematics, and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at two time points: two weeks after ERT implementation (Time 1, mid-November 2021) and two months later, after returning to face-to-face teaching (Time 2, mid-January 2022). PNT, emotional exhaustion, psychological distress, and intention towards online teaching were evaluated.

Results: Among the types of PNT, competence thwarting emerged as the strongest predictor of emotional exhaustion, which was, in turn, associated with reduced online teaching intention and increased psychological distress. EFL teachers showed stronger associations between PNT, emotional exhaustion, and adverse outcomes, indicating higher susceptibility to strain during ERT.

Conclusion: Subject of instruction, particularly for EFL teachers, significantly influences the relationship between PNT and teacher outcomes during ERT. Our findings underscore the need for subject-specific support strategies in online teaching environments.

Keywords: Emergency remote teaching; Intention towards online teaching; Longitudinal study; Psychological need thwarting; Schoolteachers; Well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Jiangxi Psychological Consultant Association (IRB ref: JXSXL-2020-J013). The electronically informed consent was obtained from all of the participants, where the purpose of the study, researcher’s affiliation, and privacy guarantee were explained. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual model.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Text-mining visualization of the main challenges faced during ERT. Note: The figure is generated through https://www.weiciyun.com/. To facilitate readers’ understanding, the original Chinese version has been translated into the current English version.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The results of SEM.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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