The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in primary schools in the Czech Republic: Parental perspectives.

The article presents results of a survey among parents of primary-school pupils, in which they commented on education during school closures due to the COVID-19 disease pandemic in the spring of 2020. The questionnaire mapped family arrangements, parents' competencies, parenting practices concerning learning, and communication with the school. It was administered to more than 2,500 respondents at the end of the period of school closures (May-June 2020). The analysis focused on the question of whether the parents of pupils in primary schools assessed the home-based distance learning as well handled and whether they felt concerned about their child's future school results. We understand parents' satisfaction as a result of the interaction between family arrangements on one hand, and requirements formulated by the schools on the other. The analysis showed that most parents rated home education positively. However, the socio-economic status (SES) and cultural status of parents was a significant factor. Among the low-SES parents, 47% reported concerns, while among the high-SES parents, only 30% did. The strongest moderators of the link between SES and concerns about the school results of children were: school-family communication during closures, adequacy of curriculum, parental practices supporting child's concentration and motivation, perceived school success of a child and parents' educational aspirations for the child.

Teachers Between Job Satisfaction and Burnout Syndrome: What Makes Difference in Czech Elementary Schools.

As has been shown by several studies, teaching is a highly stressful occupation (Johnson et al., 2005), and most teachers experience work stress. Long-term stress decreases job satisfaction and can result in chronic exhaustion which can develop into burnout syndrome. Implications of burnout syndrome are strongly negative both for the personal and professional life of teachers. As burnout syndrome puts teachers' well-being, quality of the teaching process and relationships with students at risk, it is important to seek ways to avoid teachersÉ' burnout. Many studies have confirmed the protective role that coping strategies play in managing stressful situations, teacher's self-efficacy or social support. In previous studies, a negative connection was found between burnout syndrome and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is a crucial element in the definition of wellbeing. We find wellbeing rather not as a resource for burnout prevention but as an opposite state to burnout syndrome. The paper presents a quantitative survey on burnout syndrome and related variables among Czech elementary school teachers (n = 2,394). According to burnout score, two subgroups were selected - teachers with no burnout manifestations and teachers with developing/developed burnout syndrome. Through the statistical analysis, these two groups were compared in job satisfaction, self-efficacy, coping strategies, and social support. The study shows significant differences between the two groups of teachers in all examined variables. The strongest impact on burnout syndrome was found for negative coping.

Burnout Syndrome and Lifestyle Among Primary School Teachers: A Czech Representative Study.

BACKGROUND Burnout is a state of vital exhaustion that is manifested on physical, cognitive, and emotional levels. Teachers work in a field where they are exposed daily to high job-related stressors, which can result in job change, a higher rate of unhappiness, and even earlier retirement. This study explored the relationship between job stressors, lifestyle, and burnout. MATERIAL AND METHODS Descriptive statistics were used to explore the burnout levels, together with t tests to compare between men and women, and regression analysis was performed to explore the relationship between the rates of burnout and lifestyle. RESULTS The overall sample size was 2394 teachers from primary schools. While males had higher emotional burnout, females reported higher physical burnout rates. We found that higher income was associated with less burnout, and a healthier lifestyle is associated with lower burnout rates. Teachers who take time for family and personal interests have significantly lower rates of burnout than those that do not. CONCLUSIONS Based on our results, we propose that teachers should be informed about the risk of burnout. We found that some teachers reported they do not know what burnout syndrome is. The primary aim should be to increase awareness. In fact, burnout is a major threat to those who are perfectionists and who tend to work overtime.