As we write this post in January 2022, many teachers and education workers across Canada have returned to emergency remote and online teaching, or are in a state of pedagogical limbo, back to in-person teaching but fearing the next turn of events. After two years of a global pandemic, with its parade of abrupt shifts, ever-changing mandates, and frustrations, we continue to collectively face public health challenges. The tumultuousness of the past two years cannot be ignored when understanding the current state of education workers’ mental health and well-being.

Since spring 2020, our research on teachers and education workers’ mental health has focused on changes in workload, pedagogy, the status of the profession, and their effects on educators. As part of this work, the CTF/FCE Research and Professional Learning team conducted 32 education worker interviews with the goal of better understand their experiences in the 2020-2021 school year. The narratives in the ensuing “But at what cost?” research report paint a picture of worsening mental health and well-being that has been largely unmitigated and unaddressed. Although mental health resources have been made available to teachers, including a push for greater self-care, such resources and suggestions do very little to quell underlying systemic issues that contribute to ongoing mental health crises in public education.

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