Exploring Teachers' Experiences, Perceptions of Self-Efficacy, and Posttraumatic Growth Following a Natural Disaster

This exploratory, mixed-methods study aspired to learn more about teachers’ experiences, their perceptions of self-efficacy (SE), their posttraumatic growth (PTG) outcomes, and their sensemaking surrounding these interrelated factors within a post-natural disaster context (Hurricane Michael). Through this inquiry, I primarily hoped to understand better how to support teachers in these situations for their own well-being and development which would in turn be beneficial to their students. Ten teachers from a public school within a community adversely affected by Hurricane Michael participated in the study. To investigate these themes, teachers’ SE and PTG were assessed quantitatively through survey data but also qualitatively through the evidence that emerged from semi-structured interviews. The degree to which teachers experienced the hurricane as well as demographic information was also included in the survey. Teachers reported moderate to high levels of professional efficacy and moderate posttraumatic growth. Teachers’ SE, PTG, sense-making, and experiences emerged as an ecology reflective of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Human Development and Process, Person, Context, Time (PPCT) theory. Teachers’ response to and development following a natural disaster were shaped by Centrality of Event, their personal characteristics (Force, Demand, and Resource), their access to and participation in a network of proximal processes, and the passage of time. The complex nature of teachers’ development post-disaster points to the importance of proximal processes, adult psychological development, and the need for exploring problems in education through an ecological lens.