'I Was on an Island': COVID-19 Impacts on Educator Collegiality

Emerging research has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the working conditions of educators and led to increased levels of stress, burnout, and turnover. Few studies, however, have examined changes in collegiality during the pandemic despite scholarship noting that educators experienced isolation as support systems weakened and collaboration with colleagues in school settings was reduced. In this essay, we discuss the impacts of the pandemic on educator collegiality by drawing upon survey data gathered from 758 educators in 38 public schools in New York State. Survey results show that COVID-19 related disruptions negatively impacted educators' collegiality although these impacts differed in intensity by educator gender, role, mode of instruction, and years of experience. As educator collegiality is related to a range of positive influences on educators and students and has been shown to potentially mitigate burnout and turnover, it is crucial to better understand the impacts of the pandemic on collegiality and discuss strategies to support educator collegiality in the future.