Support, School Climate and Teacher Wellbeing in the Wake of COVID-19: A National Study Using NTSP Data

Research indicates a significant number of teachers planned to leave the profession following the COVID-19 pandemic, with national surveys in 2021 revealing about 25% considering departure. Stress, low pay, remote teaching demands, and lack of support contributed to attrition, impacting school climate, which influences productivity, collaboration, and job satisfaction, and is inversely related to turnover. The shift to remote learning also demanded new skills and exposed technological disparities. This quantitative study examined the pandemic's impact on teachers' perceptions of school climate, support, resources, job satisfaction, burnout, and intent to leave using the 2020–2021 National Teacher and Principal Survey. Factor analyses revealed two school climate constructs: administrative tasks/outcomes and shared belief systems. While a weak positive relationship existed between resources/support and school climate, organizational climate positively correlated with job satisfaction and negatively with burnout and intent to leave. Similarly, staff collaboration/cohesiveness negatively correlated with burnout/intent to leave and positively with job satisfaction. These findings emphasize the importance of positive administrative interactions, fair policies, and shared values in supporting teacher well-being and reducing turnover in the post-pandemic educational context.Advisor: Jiangang Xia