Note. This paper was submitted to and accepted for presentation at the 2024 ECER. However, due to personal circumstances, it could not be presented. Since then, data collection has been completed, and the paper has been revised accordingly.

Schoolteachers are at high risk of work burnout with worldwide prevalence ranging from 25% to 74% (Agyapong et al., 2022), and implications for children’s academic achievement, social behavior, and well-being (Madigan & Kim, 2021). In 2020, the worldwide pandemic created a global crisis, impacting teachers who had to navigate significant changes in teaching methods while addressing students' needs. Upon returning to a more regular routine post-pandemic, teachers in Israel faced an additional challenge—the outbreak of war. Apart from managing personal and familial difficulties, the ongoing conflict brought implications for the educational system. This included shifts to remote teaching, implementing rotational teaching schedules due to limited school shelter capacities during alarms, and addressing the emotional struggles of children amidst these circumstances. In our study amid the COVID-19 pandemic, over 60% of teachers reported experiencing high levels of stress which was correlated with professional burnout (see Shimony et al., 2022). Surprisingly, there has been a lack of examination into teachers' burnout in wartime, despite the anticipation that such traumatic experiences would significantly impact teachers' overall functioning.

Professional burnout is defined as a sustained reaction to ongoing emotional and interpersonal stressors at work (Maslach et al., 2001). The high prevalence of burnout among teachers often results in elevated turnover rates and impacts classroom management and teacher commitment (Agyapong et al., 2022). As demonstrated during other crises, such as the pandemic, teachers often bear a significant mental health burden, including elevated levels of emotional exhaustion (Sánchez-Pujalte et al., 2021).

Psychological distress symptoms are the most prevalent negative human responses to threats and disasters and were examined in the context of different wars and their effect on citizens in the hinterland. For instance, a cross-sectional study conducted during the Russia-Ukraine war, involving a large pool of online panel participants, found that 71% reported experiencing a moderate degree of psychological distress symptoms, while 11% reported high levels of such symptoms (Eshel et al., 2023). Under typical circumstances, teachers face heightened and sustained psychological distress compared to other professionals in the general population (Titheradge et al., 2019). To the best of our knowledge, no studies have explored the impact of war on teachers' psychological distress and well-being. Given that teachers play a crucial role in schoolchildren coping with the impacts of war, it is even more essential to understand the factors that can either increase or decrease their psychological distress and well-being.

This longitudinal study examines the emotional states of teachers in a war zone over time and explores the factors that predict their emotional state. The first research question addresses the emotional state of teachers during the ongoing war, assessed through repeated measures of well-being, psychological distress, and work burnout. The second question investigates which factors can mitigate the impact of the war on teachers. Drawing on prior research highlighting influences on teachers' well-being and burnout, the study focuses on resilience (Sharifian et al., 2023), self-efficacy (Kayikcioglu et al., 2017), and perceived support (Jakubowski & Sitko-Dominik, 2021) as potential protective factors.

We conducted longitudinal quantitative research to examine the effect of the war on teachers’ emotional state. Participants were teachers in all sectors of Israeli public schools. Sample size calculation was conducted based on an expected effect size of Cohen’s d = 0.23 for the correlations between support and mental state among school teachers, as was found in our recent study (Shimony et al., 2022). A total of 300 participants was required to obtain a power of 0.95 and a significance level of 0.05. Since the dropout rate tends to be relatively high in online studies, we collected data from an initial sample of 612 teachers and finished with 323 who provided data for all three time points (females: 271 [83.9%], males: 52 [16.1%]; age range: 21-70, M = 44.48, SD = 12.61). Data collection took place every two months, beginning in November, one month after the onset of the war. Participants were asked to provide their responses to all questionnaires concerning their experiences during the war. The independent variables assessed included self-involvement in the war, resilience, self-efficacy beliefs, and needs and sources of support. Dependent variables encompassed well-being, psychological distress, and burnout. Psychological resilience was measured using the 10-item version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC; Connor & Davidson, 2003) which measures one’s ability to cope with stress. Teacher’s self-efficacy belief was measured using the Teacher’s Sense of Efficacy Scale (Kayikcioglu et al., 2017) which measures teachers' evaluations of how likely they are to be successful in teaching (e.g., “How much can you do to help your students think critically”). Needs and Sources of Support were assessed by a questionnaire we developed in our past research (see Shimony et al., 2022) which contains two sub-scales—the sources of support that teachers need and the available resources to teachers (e.g., the school, Ministry of Education, family). Well-Being was measured using the Well-Being Index (Topp et al., 2015) which contains questions regarding feelings of gaiety and vitality (e.g., “I woke up with a feeling of vitality and serenity”). Psychological Distress was measured by the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (Norton, 2007) which measures the severity of these symptoms (e.g., “I tended to overreact to situations”). Professional Burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach et al., 2001) which contains three components of burnout—emotional exhaustion, personal fulfillment, and depersonalization (e.g., “I feel worn out at the end of a working day”).

At baseline, 60% of teachers reported severe depression and anxiety, while 50% exceeded standard stress thresholds based on DSM criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). To address the first question, we made use of repeated measures ANOVA which revealed significant changes over time: Well-being increased from 2.92 at T1 to 3.74 at T3 (p < .001), and psychological distress decreased from an average of 17.64 at T1 to 12.05 at T2 before rising slightly to 14.00 at T3 (p < .001). However, one component of burnout—depersonalization—increased significantly from an average of 1.91 at T1 to 2.08 at T2 (p < .001). To examine protective factors, we used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with well-being and psychological distress as endogenous variables and burnout as a latent exogenous factor. Self-efficacy, resilience, and emotional support were tested as moderators. The model showed excellent fit: χ²(16) = 17.74, p = .339; CFI = 0.99; TLI = 0.99; RMSEA = 0.01. Well-being negatively predicted burnout (β = -0.08, p = .008), while psychological distress was a positive predictor (β = 0.31, p < .001). Resilience moderated the link between well-being and burnout (β = 0.10, p = .041), and emotional support gaps moderated the association between psychological distress and burnout (β = -0.11, p = .041). Our findings indicate that teachers’ well-being and psychological distress improved over time, suggesting some adaptation to the crisis. However, professional burnout worsened, with increasing depersonalisation highlighting the need for sustained support to address long-term challenges (Agyapong et al., 2022). Psychological resilience and emotional support emerged as key factors in protecting teachers’ emotional state, suggesting that these features should be cultivated and reinforced through training programs.

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