A Phenomenological Study of Guam Public-School Elementary Teachers’ Transitional and Mental Health Experiences During the COVID-19 Global Pandemic in 2020

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand the lived experiences that may have impacted the mental health of public-school elementary teachers in Guam as they entered an unfamiliar period of teaching during the 2020 coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. The theories guiding this study are Nancy Schlossberg’s transition theory and social constructivism which was originated by Lev Vygotsky and John Piaget. The philosophical assumption of this study is ontology which assisted in reporting the different realities of its participants. Schlossberg’s transition theory guided this study for understanding teacher transitions and changes, and the social constructivism worldview captured various mental health experiences of its participants to understand their different worlds during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Both theoretical approaches assisted in answering the three research questions (RQ) for this study. The data collection process consisted of semi structured interviews, journal entries as documents, and focus groups. Data was thoroughly analyzed through a 7-step process which included the strategies of coding and horizonalization. Findings of this research study consisted of 17 themes that were then categorized within all 3 RQs. Results of this study found six common lived experiences that impacted the mental health of its participants and answered RQ1: persistency, stress, fear, positive impact, self-care, and mental strain. These lived experiences stem from the five found common transitional issues during the COVID-19 global pandemic reported by participants and answered RQ2: uncertainty, burnout, unexpected changes, anxiety, and learning loss of students. Results concluded with participants of this study suggesting ways that could prevent their mental health from being impacted if another crisis were to occur in Guam.