Degree Name
EdD (Doctor of Education)
Program
Educational Leadership
Date of Award
8-2022
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Pamela Scott
Committee Members
William Flora, Virginia Foley, Richard Griffin
Abstract
The purpose of this research study was to explore the symptoms of compassion fatigue as experienced by teachers in grades 9-12 during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the research on the effects of compassion fatigue on educators is relatively sparse, the literature regarding compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and vicarious trauma in other helping professions revealed a 12-symptom framework.
Data collection strategies included individual virtual interviews and field notes. Analysis of data occurred in four phases: (a) analyzing transcripts and identifying themes, (b) categorization of data under the 12 symptoms of compassion fatigue, (c) building the explanation in narrative form, and (d) re-examination of the data. The triangulation of data protected the credibility of the analysis through multiple interview sources and member checking.
The results revealed that the physical, emotional, professional, and personal experiences described in the teacher interviews exemplified the 12 established symptoms of compassion fatigue. The results suggested that concern for student experiences during the pandemic combined with other contributing factors to manifest a variety of individual symptoms in participants. The most common contributing factors for participants included concerns for the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of students, student academic issues, feelings of being overwhelmed/overloaded at work, and anger and frustration with the school administration and the school system. The themes that emerged from the data analysis indicate that the most common manifested symptoms include lack of sleep, stress and anxiety, thoughts of leaving the teaching profession, and disconnection from family and friends.
Document Type
Dissertation - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Staggs, Randi, "Consequences of Caring: The Manifestation of Compassion Fatigue in High School Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic" (2022). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4124. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/4124
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.