REMOTE TEACHING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND HEALTH RISKS FOR PRIVATE TEACHING TEACHERS IN BAHIA

Abstract

Remote teaching was a new practice used as a strategy for the continuity of educational activities during the Covid-19 pandemic. It involved radical changes with impacts on teacher health. This study aimed to analyze the challenges encountered by teachers of the Private Teaching Network of the State of Bahia in the remote teaching modality and its impact on teacher health. The data originated from the research entitled “Teaching work and health in times of a pandemic (Covid-19)”, carried out through an online form, which contained an open subjective question that provided the opportunity to narrate experiences with emergency remote teaching. The empirical material was organized into the following thematic categories: the use of digital technologies in remote teaching; work intensification and professional devaluation; and repercussions on the health of teachers. It was found that the configuration of emergency remote teaching transformed the teachers' homes into spaces for pedagogical activities with improvised organization and working conditions, superimposed on domestic activities. There were reports of moral harassment practices and adverse health effects, such as burnout and psychic suffering, due to the pressure to meet educational demands. This included the need for rapid acquisition of knowledge and management of technological resources that demanded continuously, often without rest breaks, with significant damage to the teacher’s mental health.