The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Teaching Professionals in Primary Education Settings in Northern Ireland

Abstract

This study will explore the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on teaching professionals in primary education settings in Northern Ireland. The aim of the research was to gather the experiences of teaching professionals during the pandemic, identifying the possible challenges they may have faced, but also the positives which came from remote learning. The researcher used semi-structured interviews to collect the data, which was then analysed to find themes made throughout the data. With three main themes being found thee including:

• Use of online teaching methods
• Returning to face-to-face teaching
• Teaching professionals’ mental health and wellbeing

These themes will be explored in-depth to provide the reader with a greater understanding of the topic. There may also be information found that may surprise the reader, as they may not have thought about some of the experiences the teaching professionals discuss.

Through the research, it was found there was a lack of information surrounding teaching professionals in primary education settings in Northern Ireland. With most research conducted looking at the experiences of higher education, children’s experiences, or as the UK as a whole rather than specifically at Northern Ireland. This highlighting the need for further research to be conducted to ensure that this group of individuals is not being forgotten about.