The rise of online teaching and digital learning during the health emergency from Covid-19 and teachers’ working self-efficacy: an Italian perspective.

The teachers’ working self-efficacy corresponds to teachers' beliefs in their ability to effectively handle challenges related to their professional activity and how they consider themselves capable of solving them. This ability plays a key role in influencing students' achievement, motivation, and well-being within the school system. To date, this sense of selfefficacy has been strained by the COVID-19 health emergency, which has led to social distancing with the rise of online teaching and use of digital learning systems. The present study investigates how teachers perceived their self-efficacy and the impact of the emergency on their digital and distance relationships. 21 female teachers (professional seniority M = 20.45 years, DS = 11.47 years; kindergarten = 5, primary school = 11, middle school = 5) filled in a survey, on a 5-points Likert scale, that assesses self-efficacy in the workplace and the perception of change in relationships (with students, colleagues, and families) following the changes due to the health emergency. In addition, an in-depth qualitative analysis was carried out on the answers to an open question: “What aspects of your professional action have you been able to observe as effective and what aspects were a confirmation for you and which ones were a revelation?". Results revealed a positive association between working self-efficacy with the perception of the influence of online teaching and learning in the management of relationships with students and a negative association with colleagues, while it is almost absent related to families. The qualitative analysis revealed three core domains: personal (e.g., creativity), interpersonal (e.g., interactions) and digital (e.g., use of online platforms). Despite the small sample, that prevents us from a generalization of the results, the challenges produced by unpredictable situations and the use of digital devices motivate and encourage teachers to search for adaptive strategies. This should orientate to specific education practices in the area of relationships management for in-service teachers.