Teacher Self-Regulation: A Starting Place in a Post-Pandemic Era

by: Dr. Sonia Mastrangelo, Bruno Bilotta

date: April 16, 2025

The post-pandemic period has seen an increase in stress among teachers. Transitioning back to in-person learning has been marked by heightened stress levels for teachers, children, and parents. Many children find themselves unprepared to cope with routines, fellow students, and busy environments after extended periods of being at home, leading to dysregulation (Eden, Chisom & Adeniyi, 2024). For teachers, there has been elevated stress leading to burnout due to several factors including the growing complexities of student needs (Kim, Oxley, & Asbury, 2021). Children were accustomed to a more flexible learning environment at home, creating additional pressure on teachers, who were working to re-establish face-to-face communication with families after long periods of isolation. Post-pandemic challenges have been well-documented globally, with researchers like Watts and Pattnaik (2023) reporting significant negative impacts on children’s holistic development, including their social, emotional, and cognitive growth. The disruption to education systems has resulted in notable learning losses, with meta-analyses estimating that students lost approximately 18-35% of an academic year’s learning (Zierer, 2021). This educational lag has led to heightened stress levels among children who find themselves trailing behind and has imposed financial burdens on parents who seek supplemental tutoring or additional learning resources to bridge these gaps (Zierer, 2021).

In this context, forging strong partnerships among parents, teachers, and students is more pivotal than ever. Collaborative efforts and positive relationships are essential to address these challenges effectively, supporting children’s holistic wellbeing and development (Eden et al., 2024). By working together, teachers and families can develop strategies that promote a supportive learning environment, helping students reacclimate to the school setting. Engaging all parties through co-regulated interactions is key to creating a sense of safety and security. By working together, all stakeholders can foster environments that support developmentally appropriate self-regulation strategies, enabling students to navigate the transition back to the school setting more effectively. Overall, the implications of the pandemic underscore the urgent need for adaptive educational strategies and collaborative support systems to mitigate its impact on students’ developmental and educational trajectories. Effective partnerships among teachers, parents, and students will be a pivotal component in promoting resilience and facilitating positive educational outcomes in the post-pandemic landscape.

The research on teacher self-regulation points to the importance of feeling calm and focused to handle the stressors that come their way in a busy classroom. Self-regulation is defined as managing one’s energy states, emotions, behavior, and attention in ways that are socially acceptable to help achieve positive goals, such as maintaining good relationships, learning, and maintaining wellbeing (Shanker, 2012). The more teachers can stay calmly focused and alert, the better they can integrate the diverse information coming in from the senses, assimilate it, and sequence thoughts and actions. There needs to be a consideration of the self-regulatory status of teachers because we know that difficulties developing these foundations in self-regulation may impact children’s educational outcomes.

Self-Regulation is a universal platform (not a targeted intervention or a behaviour management program) that is anchored in the following tenets:

Each individual, family, culture, and community holds unique self-regulation expertise.
The wellbeing of children is inseparable from the wellbeing of the critical adults in their lives; therefore the co-regulatory relationships they develop are key to nurturing long-lasting connections that suppress stress and allow the pre-frontal cortex to thrive.

When a teacher is self-regulated, they can support a child through healthy relationship building which includes co-regulation. Shanker’s self-regulation framework begins with considering one’s self-regulation first and then reflects on how the teacher’s state can support a child or their parent through calm, regulated interactions that are reciprocal. For example, if a teacher is dysregulated, it will be challenging to co-regulate a distressed parent who is dropping their child off at a new school on the first day. In their work on stress, Jennings, Frank, Snowberg, Coccia and Greenberg (2013) found that by decreasing teacher stress and increasing their sense of wellbeing, teachers became better able to establish supportive relationships with children, promoting attachment and improving classroom climate.

How can an appreciative inquiry approach guide teachers in building relationships?

Teachers appreciate having opportunities for ‘self-discovery’ of topics within a framework or to have information scaffolded so that they are not overburdened with an ocean of research. The hope is that teachers can work in communities of practice, relishing the opportunity to work through some of the information presented about the neuroscience of self-regulation and critically evaluating its usefulness to their daily practice. Appreciative Inquiry includes five generic processes:

(1) choose the positive as the focus of inquiry;

(2) inquire into exceptionally positive moments;

(3) share the stories and identify the life-giving force;

(4) create shared images of a preferred future;

(5) innovate and improvise ways to create that future.

Appreciative inquiry is a process that can empower a group of teachers to find what’s working, create an ideal vision among group members, and design a way to get there together. Studying self-regulation and co-regulation as a collective gives teachers the opportunity to apply their new-found knowledge to their own particular contexts. See Figure 1 for a mapping exercise that involves creating appreciative connections among concepts.

Figure 1: Appreciative connections

Co-regulation in action: A personal narrative

Many years ago, when I was working in a Kindergarten classroom with 4-year-olds, I received a telephone call from a parent advising me that she predicted her son Jon would struggle with the transition to formal kindergarten because he had never been to a daycare or preschool setting. I did my best to ease Mom’s anxiety about the ‘big day’ by sharing anecdotes about the activities I would be presenting to the children for the transition from home to school. My best attempts did not seem to co-regulate Jon’s mom and I can still vividly remember her panic-stricken face. At the time, I had been studying self-regulation and recognized the need to remain calm, focused, and alert and to pay particular attention to her cues of fear, anxiety, and trepidation. As a result, I suggested that she join us for the first day of kindergarten to work with ALL the children in the kindergarten setting. Her presence in the room would help to ease their stress. On the first day, Jon clung to his mother’s leg for most of the morning. By the halfway point of the day, Jon had left his mother’s side and would occasionally glance over to ensure she was in the room. It was during those moments that I spent some 1:1 time with him, encouraging him to draw pictures of his mom, looking at photographs of their beautiful summer memories, and creating an “All about My Mom book.” The first day was a success! Jon was socialising with peers, becoming comfortable with the environment, and even engaged in some parallel play with a group of boys. I decided to extend the invitation to Jon’s mom to return to the kindergarten class for the subsequent week and with each passing day, Jon slowly shifted from his mother’s personal space to the different places in the room. He showed a keen interest in strings that were placed in the art zone and created a beautiful collage. His conversations with the other children were full of rich vocabulary and comical narratives. Jon’s bubbly personality was beginning to shine through. The unexpected happened during the two-week transition plan for Jon. His mother became an integral part of the day, setting up provocations and stations of inquiry for the other children. She approached me one day and told me that the experience was transformational, and she decided to enrol in an early childhood education college the following semester. By week three, Jon was able to say goodbye to his mother at the door with a smile on his face and began his day by quickly looking at his “All About My Mom” book. As the classroom teacher, I fielded many queries and questions from the other kindergarten teachers about why a parent was permitted to be part of the full-day classroom program. My response always entailed sharing the science of self- and co-regulation and the importance of feeling safe and secure in an environment. Empathy, which is taking the perspective of another, helped me realize that the stressors impacting both mom and Jon were causing allostatic overload (cumulative burden of chronic stress at the physiological level). Being able to regulate my response to their stress (self-awareness) and remaining calm, allowed me to co-regulate both Mom and Jon.

Creating a culture of collaboration

Developing meaningful relationships with children and their families in educational settings is crucial for creating environments that promote holistic development and success (Garcia & Weiss, 2019). A fundamental aspect of this process is co-regulation, which involves collaboration between teachers and caregivers to support children along the developmental continuum. The active participation of parents and community members is essential to developing relationships that significantly influence children’s academic success, along with their social and emotional wellbeing (Garcia & Weiss, 2019). When parents engage in their child’s early educational journey, it leads to better academic outcomes and fosters a positive disposition about preschool (Berthelsen & Walker, 2008).

Research indicates that involving parents in their children’s education fosters a sense of belonging and community, thereby improving learning outcomes (Harris & Goodall, 2008). For instance, when parents participate in field trips as co-educators, they contribute to experiential learning and strengthen the bond between home and school (Smith & Stevenson, 2023). Additionally, inviting parents into the classroom for special events, such as reading days or cultural celebrations, empowers them as guest learners and showcases the diverse backgrounds of families, enriching the educational experience for all (Murray, Thompson & Taylor, 2023). Organizing social events, such as family picnics or workshops, promotes networking among families and encourages collaboration in learning, allowing parents to share feedback and accountability with teachers, which contributes to a supportive educational environment (Murray et al., 2023). Engaging families in these multifaceted ways builds relationships and creates a nurturing community aligned with the principles of co-regulation.

Prioritizing collaborative learning opportunities

Could opportunities to study the neuro-biological research about self-regulation be a worthwhile avenue of study for teachers? There is a definite need to enhance teacher professional development by creating teacher teams to advance their understanding of the far-reaching positive contributions of the self-regulation framework on overall learning and wellbeing in children.

Teamwork is an important aspect of teachers’ ability to facilitate self-regulation in the classroom and allows them to model healthy and supportive relationships and to mutually support one another to reduce stress through co-regulation. Teachers are co-regulating within their teaching teams when they debrief, vent, and express empathy toward one another, and through the sharing of resources and ideas. Communication is only possible when teachers, parents and students are regulated. Building robust communication channels among all enhances relationships and collaboration. Teachers might implement regular “family sharing days,” where parents can attend the classroom to share their cultural background or family traditions, helping to build connections through storytelling and dialogue (Harris & Honig, 2023). Collaborative projects, such as a garden that parents and children design together can foster teamwork. Parents can contribute to planning while teachers guide the children in planting and caring for the garden, promoting a sense of shared ownership (Frey, Fisher & Smith, 2017).

Lastly, providing teachers more time together as a team may empower them to share their hopes and aspirations for their community of learners. Perhaps more importantly, developing strong relationships with colleagues may enhance personal self-regulation through social engagement. Shanker (2016), Clinton (2020), and Tantam (2018) reveal through their work on relationships (Porges, 2009, 2015; Sabol & Pianta, 2012) that one’s self-regulation is grounded in feelings of safety learned through social engagement. In conclusion, when teachers are mindful of their co-regulatory capacities, they are better equipped to create environments of safety for children and families, ultimately leading to shared trust and meaningful engagement.

References

Berthelsen, D., & Walker, S. (2008). Parents’ involvement in their children’s education. Family Matters, 79, 34-41.

Clinton, J. (2020). Love builds brains. Tall Pine Press.

Eden, C., Chisom, O., & Adeniyi, I. (2024). Parent and community involvement in education: Strengthening partnerships for social improvement. International Journal of Applied Research in Social Sciences, 6(3), 372–382. https://doi.org/10.51594/ijarss.v6i3.894

Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Smith, D. (2017). The social-emotional learning playbook: A guide to student and teacher wellbeing. Corwin Press.

Garcia, E., & Weiss, E. (2019). The importance of early childhood education and development. Economic Policy Institute.

Harris, A., & Goodall, J. (2008). Do parents know they matter? Engaging all parents in learning. Educational Research, 50(3), 277–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131880802309424

Harris, A. S., & Honig, L. (2023). Mutual dependence and expectations of cooperation. The Journal of Politics, 85(1). https://doi.org/10.1086/720646

Jennings, P. A., Frank, J. L., Snowberg, K. E., Coccia, M. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2013). Improving classroom learning environments by cultivating awareness and resilience in education (CARE): Results of a randomized controlled trial. School Psychology Quarterly, 28(4), 374–390. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000035

Kim, L., Oxley, L., & Asbury, K. (2021). “My brain feels like a browser with 100 tabs open”: A longitudinal study of teachers’ mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 299–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12450

Murray, A., Thompson, K., & Taylor, P. (2023). The impact of parental involvement in early childhood education: A review of research and practice. Childhood Education, 99(2), 81-90.

Porges, S. W. (2015). Making the world safe for our children: Down-regulating defence and up-regulating social engagement to ‘optimise’ the human experience. Children Australia, 40(2), 114.

Porges, S. W. (2009). The polyvagal theory: New insights into adaptive reactions of the autonomic nervous system. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 76(2) https://doi.org/10.3949/ccjm.76.s2.17

Sabol, T. J., & Pianta, R. C. (2012). Recent trends in research on teacher-child relationships. Attachment & Human Development, 14(3), 213–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2012.672262

Shanker, S. (2012). Calm, alert, and learning. Pearson.

Shanker, S. (2016). Self-Reg: How to help your child (and you) break the stress cycle and successfully engage with life. Penguin Random House.

Smith, J., & Stevenson, B. (2023). Building equitable partnerships in early childhood education: A community-centered approach. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 21(3), 245-262.

Tantam, D. (2018). The interbrain: Embodied connections versus common knowledge. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Watts, R., & Pattnaik, J. (2023). Perspectives of parents and teachers on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s socio-emotional well-being. Early Childhood Education Journal, 51, 1541–1552.

Zierer, K. (2021). Effects of pandemic-related school closures on pupils’ performance and learning in selected countries: A rapid review. Education Sciences, 11(6), Article 252. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11060252

Meet the Expert(s)

Dr. Sonia Mastrangelo

Assistant Dean/Associate Professor, Lakehead University

Dr. Sonia Mastrangelo is Assistant Dean and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Her areas of research include developmentally appropriate practice, self-regulation, stress and post-secondary students, critical disability studies, inclusive education, autism spectrum disorders, and cognitive-developmental systems theory.

Bruno Bilotta

Faculty Advisor, Lakehead University

Bruno Bilotta is a PhD student and Faculty Advisor at Lakehead University. He is an educator for the Toronto Catholic District School Board in the Education Community Partnership Program, a specialized department focusing on the Treatment Research and Education for Autism and Developmental Disorders (TRE-ADD).