Teacher Candidates' Perspectives on Self-Care: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors

Mary S. Thomas, University of LouisvilleFollow
Penny B. Howell, University of LouisvilleFollow

Abstract

How are teacher candidates conceptualizing self-care during the COVID 19 pandemic?

We initiated focused attention on educator self-care for teacher candidates after identifying this content as a missing yet necessary component of trauma-informed teaching (Authors, 2019). In the fall of 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting every element of candidates’ lives including our now remotely-delivered course, we reconsidered how that content needed to fit into the realities of learning to teach during a pandemic. Following these revisions, we explored the research question, how are candidates conceptualizing self-care during the COVID-19 pandemic? We describe findings and provide recommendations and resources for educator preparation programs (EPP) to include self-care content during COVID -19 and afterward.

Recommended Citation

Thomas, Mary S. and Howell, Penny B. (2021) "Teacher Candidates' Perspectives on Self-Care: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic," Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children: Vol. 8: Iss. 2, Article 1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61611/2995-5904.1032
Available at: https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/ktej/vol8/iss2/1