The Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic on Anxiety Levels of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Teachers

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the anxiety levels of teachers in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). By focusing on teachers as a professional group, this research sought to evaluate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic from a unique perspective. Design/Methodology/Approach: In the 2019-2020 academic year, 101 (Female = 69, 68.3%; Male = 32, 31.7%) primary school teachers working in public schools affiliated to the TRNC Ministry of National Education participated in the study. Beck Anxiety scale developed by Beck et al. (1988) was used in the study. The anxiety levels of the participants were divided into two groups as normal-mild anxiety (0-15) and moderate-severe anxiety (16-63) according to their responses to the scale. A high score on the scale indicates a high level of anxiety. In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics were used to describe continuous variables and chi-square was used to examine the relationships between categorical variables. Findings: Although not statistically significant (p>0.05), the anxiety levels of the participants (n=83, 82.2%) were found to be in the normal-mild range. In terms of variables; female (X̄=,46), single (X̄=,59), classroom teacher (X̄=,46), bachelor's degree graduate (X̄=,51) and 0-5 years of service (X̄=,67) had higher anxiety levels. Highlights: The fact that the anxiety levels of the participants in the Covid-19 process were in the normal to mild range can be considered as a positive situation in terms of psychological public health.