The Mental Health State and Psychological Well-Being of School Teachers during COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia

: This study was conducted to determine the level of mental health and psychological well-being of school teachers during the Movement Control Order (MCO) enforced throughout COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. The study sample consisted of 274 male and female school teachers in Selangor state, Malaysia. This quantitative data was obtained using an online questionnaire developed via 'Google form' application, and was analyzed using SPSS software version 28.0. Perceived Stress Scale (COVID-19 PSS-10) English Version shows Alpha Cronbach's value of α = 0.719. The validity test of the instrument Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWB) English Version shows the alpha Cronbach's α = 0.86. The set of questionnaires was analyzed descriptively, independent sample t - test was also conducted. The study found that respondents have a moderate level of psychological well-being. There were no significant differences between the genders of teachers. The findings of the study are expected to help reduce the level of stress faced by teachers’ aims to preserve their psychological health in order to ensure the well-being of students and the continuity of the national education system.


Introduction
Over the past two years, the world community has been shocked by the spread of a dangerous Novel Coronavirus also known as COVID-19 virus. The virus was found in one of the provinces of China. A report dated July 16, 2021 sources from Johns Hopkins University recorded COVID-19 infection had reached 191 million world population in addition to causing more than 4 million deaths in nearly 200 countries. Patients infected with this virus will usually experience symptoms including headache, sore throat, cold, cough, and fever. According to the Director General of Health Ministry, the latest Delta variant had existed in local scene, and it is considered to be more dangerous and capable of infecting humans through the air, as it is the dominant variant type of virus (MStar Press, 2021).
The majority of Malaysians before this pandemic had lived a perfect life including enjoying basic necessities and experiencing technological advances in line with modern development. However, all these privileges are felt to be disappearing following the COVID-19 pandemic which demanded that the government implement control orders. Many countries have enforced movement control orders (MCO) in order to break this network of infectious diseases (Bakar & Ramli, 2020;Munthali & Xuelian, 2020). The introduction of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), the closure of economic and social sectors as well as the latest proclamation of emergency have had a detrimental effect on the survival of civil society. An Indian-language daily newspaper, Malaysia Nanban stated that drastic changes in living norms cause the public to experience emotional and mental stress to the point of committing suicide. The newspaper excerpt also explained the ongoing phase of the MCO and caused the state borders to be closed resulting in limited physical contact between individuals and loved ones.
This pandemic is considered one of the most difficult challenges faced by the general Malaysian citizens. During the nearly two years of this pandemic, various crises have plagued our country. The deepening economic crisis following the pandemic has resulted in thousands of people losing their source of income, homelessness and starvation. The incidents that occurred as a result of this pandemic have caused stress and anxiety in the community. A study conducted by Luo (2020) related to the psychological and mental effects of COVID-19 on health workers and the general public showed that anxiety and stress problems were at the highest level compared to other problems.
The education sector is also affected by the spread of this epidemic. The closure of all schools and institutions of higher learning was implemented by the government in order to ensure the safety and health of the people. As a result, the teaching and learning process in schools had to be stopped during the period of movement control. For the sake of continuity of learning, educators have conducted classes online or home-based Teaching and Learning (PdPR). Thus, the lecturer of the Human Genius College, Dr Ehwan Ngadi, said that during the PdPR period, the three main effects that are a challenge to educators are the stability of the teaching platform, internet accessibility and holistic assessment in addition to emotional management.
Undoubtedly, many studies have been conducted related to personal well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic season (Nesen & Bakar, 2021;Fancourt et al., 2020;Pierce et al., 2020), which highlighted the effects of mental health and personal well-being from various groups of respondents. Each group involved in the study of mental health and personal well-being during this pandemic season faces its own challenges according to their respective careers. However, when examined further, the previous study did not specifically emphasize how the period of the Movement Control Order (MCO) affects the psychological changes and the well-being of school teachers in Malaysia.
During home-based teaching and learning period, teachers especially primary school teachers, faced various pressures including adjusting to online work, diverse student frustrations, instability of internet access, and family responsibilities. In addition, teachers have engaged themselves in knowledge sharing activities through online platforms (Joseph et al., 2020). They are also facing drastic changes in online teaching as well as facing challenges in maintaining faculty professionalism, personal management, and social. The education sector is also facing varied changes in its efforts to support the educational community towards new norms. This pandemic has resulted in stress, anxiety, and depression in the community as they fear facing impending adverse effects (Ismail, Hussin & Bakar, 2021;Wang et.al, 2020). Such situational variations and changes differentiate the level of stress encountered in turn having a significant impact on the psychological well-being of the individual. Therefore, it is important to understand the persistent stressful situations that can result in a decrease in the level of physical and mental health of the individual (Marotti, 2015). In the context of teachers, the stress they face now can contribute to a decrease in their level of psychological well-being, which in turn has a negative impact on daily life.
The spread of the epidemic that occurs leave an impact on mental health (Al-Ateeq et al., 2020), coupled with the continued implementation of MCO, this study was conducted to identify the level of psychological well-being of school teachers in the state of Selangor based on the pressure faced during the implementation period of Movement Control Order (MCO Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the demographic characteristics of different types stressors during the period of MCO and to study its impact on the psychological well-being of school teachers in Selangor. The specific objectives of this study were to: a. examine the level of psychological well-being of school teachers in Selangor during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period b. identify differences in the level of psychological well-being of school teachers based on gender in Selangor during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period c. examine the level of stress felt by school teachers in Selangor during the period of Movement Control Order (MCO); and d. identify the differences in the level of stress felt by primary school teachers based on gender in Selangor during the Movement Control Order (MCO).

Mental Health
Mental health is defined as the level of psychological well-being or a person who is free from mental illness. There is no official term or a fixed definition of mental well-being (MOH MyHealth Portal, 2020). In an article published by the Ministry of Health Malaysia mentioned that mental health can be affected due to stress in the workplace, sudden environmental or social changes, socioeconomic problems, and physical illness. Mental health also refers to the social adjustment of individuals to different levels based on the circumstances of the time and place it is located (Roslee et al., 2005). Citing the view of Imam Al-Ghazali, a mentally healthy human being is a perfect person, that is able to control his soul.
The definition of mental health through the Islamic approach in general, is closely related to a person who is able to deal with any obstacles in his daily life. Individuals should take care of their mental health to avoid mental illness. According to (Roslee et. al, 2005), the three main factors that affect an individual's mental health are coping skills, self-esteem, and temperament. While the surrounding factors involve the socio-economic condition, physical condition and social support involved in the life of the individual.

Psychological Well-Being
Psychological well-being is multidimensional and defined in various angles (Hupert & So, 2013;Diener et al., 2010). The general consensus among scholars concludes that psychological well-being refers to individuals who are psychologically well-off should be in a positive emotional state. According to (Sinha & Verma, 1992) is a concept of assembling various special aspects such as confidence, self-control, sense of importance, freedom from failure, anxiety, and loneliness.
Moreover, a psychologically prosperous individual can be identified when he acquires happiness, does not show symptoms of depression and feels satisfied in his life (Ryff, 1995). Among the factors that influence the level of psychological well-being of an individual are culture, age, gender, success, social status and the beliefs adhered to (Lawten, 1991). Psychological well-being also serves as a predictor to other conditions such as an individual's physical health and age (Ryff 2013(Ryff , 2018. Furthermore, a person's psychological ability to reach a satisfactory level depends on the existence of happy feelings, feelings of contentment in life and the absence of symptoms of stress disorder (Henn et al., 2016;Ryff, 1995).

Stress during the Movement Control Order (MCO)
Widespread disease outbreaks are closely linked to mental health problems and psychological problems (WHO, 2020a;Nanjundaswamy et al., 2020;). Issues related to the psychological well-being of individuals and society have been a major concern since the spread of the COVID-19 virus coupled with various Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that have been tightened recently due to the increase in Covid -19 cases related to psychological problems resulting in depression, mental disorders self-stress and psychiatry (Abdul Rashid et al., 2020). In addition, previous studies also support that the individuals involved are also prone to stress symptoms such as anxiety and worry.
The psychological stress that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic regardless of age and gender, it occurred to all individuals regardless of their socio -demographic background (Zhang J et al., 2020), whereas Ho et. al. (2020 reported that anyone can suffer from new psychiatric symptoms, even if they do Bisma The Journal Of Counseling, Open Access, https://ejournal.undiksha.ac.id/index.php/bisma not have any medical history involving psychiatric illness. Occurring symptoms such as anxiety, fear of infection and death, anger, feelings of hopelessness, stigma, and blame all that happen can occur during a pandemic season. Thus this study targets educators because they are in dire need of psychological support (Zhou et al, 2020;Yang et. al, 2020). No doubt every job has its own stresses and problems, yet studies show that teaching is a highly stressful profession and many teachers are exposed to high emotional stress in the workplace (Fiorilli et al., 2015;Borrelli et al., 2014;Herman et al., 2018;De Stasio et al., 2017;Chirico et al., 2019b). One study recorded that the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the personal well-being of teachers related to their profession, (Alves et al., 2020). This is because during the MCO period, they are confronted with many students who need online learning assistance, in contrast to face-to-face learning.
The study conducted on teachers during this period of Movement Control Order (MCO) was to find out the current stress conditions that impact on their psychological well-being. Thus, the theory of psychological well-being was chosen based on the concept that believes psychological well-being is a concept that has a relationship with what is felt daily in turn leading to the expression of one's feelings as a result of life's journey. According to Ryff and Keyes (1995), a person acquires psychological well-being when the individual has reached a high level of psychological potential. That is, able to manage his mental, emotional and behavioral state in daily life. They also stated that psychological well-being can be measured through six dimensions, namely autonomy, self-acceptance, environmental mastery, positive relationships, personal growth and purpose in life. Meanwhile, Schmutte and Ryff (1997) have identified the factors that affect the psychological well-being of individuals, namely character, occupation, and physical health.
The next theoretical approach refers to the method of identifying the level of stress felt by a person over a given period of time. Humans tend to have a variety of interpretations and ways of coping with stress depending on life history, experience and personal (Folkman, 1997). Moreover, Lazarus and Folkman (1984) define stress is the interaction between an individual with the surrounding circumstances in turn makes the individual feel threatened or when the prevailing circumstances overwhelm his ability and interfere with his own well-being. From this definition, (Cohen et al., 1983) have developed a measurement of the level of perceived stress or better known as the 'Perceived Stress Scale'

Research Design
This study uses a descriptive quantitative research method with non-random sampling. Purposive sampling method or sampling technique was chosen because the study subject is a primary school teacher respondent in Selangor. The survey was conducted through a questionnaire in the form of google form which was distributed to the group of respondents involved.

Respondents
An online survey form was distributed to a group of primary school teachers in Selangor. Respondents who agreed to participate in this study must meet the main condition of primary school teachers who are still serving during the period of Movement Control Order (MCO). A total of 274 respondents participated in this study based on data information received from the google form application.

Instruments
The information on psychological well-being and the level of stress felt during the period of MCO were gathered from the respondents via the administration of two independent instruments.
The first instrument was Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales (PWBS) questionnaire. Constructed based on the theory (Ryff, 1995) used to measure the level of psychological well-being of respondents. The original version consisted of 42 items, while a simplified version of 18 items was refined by (Garcia et. Al, 2012). There are six dimensions of psychology that are measured, namely self-acceptance, autonomy, environmental mastery, positive relations, purpose in life and personal growth. This questionnaire uses PWBS version of 18 items with a choice of five likert scale answers namely Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree and Strongly Disagree. The unfavorable variables are items numbered 1,2, 3,8,9,11,12,13,17 Strongly Disagree answer choice. A low score indicates a minimum level of psychological well-being while a high score indicates an optimal level of psychological well-being.
The second instrument the COVID-19 Perceived Stress Scale (COVID-PSS-10) questionnaire constructed by (Pedrozo-Pupo et al., 2020). In this study, the Malay version of the questionnaire was used with the validity of the original translation by Prof. Dr. Sami Abd Rahman, lecturer at SEGi University, Malaysia. This instrument was used to identify the level of stress felt during the period of MCO implementation. The questionnaire has 10 items, a choice of five likert scale answers namely Never, Almost Never, Sometimes, Quite Often, and Very Often. Items numbered 1,2,3,6,9, and 10 total scores from 0 -4. While items numbered 4,5,7, and 8 are calculated by the reverse scored method, from a score of 4 -0. The score range is from 0 to 40.

Data Collection
Questionnaires through specific links were distributed to the target group, namely primary school teachers in the state of Selangor. The data obtained through the google form application is transferred into the Microsoft Excel application before being translated numerically for the calculation of the respondent data.

Data Analysis
Data was analayzed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SPSS version 28.0 for Microsoft Windows. (Armonk, New York, United States). The collected data were calculated as Min ±, standard deviation (SD), and discrete data in numbers and percentages. Respondent statistics had high significance, while P> 0.05 was counted as insignificant. Statistical significance was set at a convective 5% threshold value (α = 0.05). The measurement effect is estimated with 95% of confidence intervals (CIs).

Respondent Demographics Distribution by Gender
The results showed that a total of 184 respondents of primary school teachers equivalent to 67.2 percent participated in this study. While 90 people equivalent to 32.8 percent are male respondents.

Distribution by Age
The findings showed that the majority of respondents consisted of the age range of 21 to 30 years which is 45.6 percent equivalent to 125 respondents, followed by the second highest which is respondents aged 31 to 40 years which recorded 38.0 percent equivalent to 104 respondents. While the small distribution of respondents is the age range of 41 to 50 years which is 33 people equivalent to 12.0 percent followed by the least age group of respondents is the age range of 50 and above as many as 12 respondents only equivalent to 4.4 percent of all study participants involved.

Distribution by Marital Status
The results of the analysis of respondents according to marital status showed that the majority of respondents were married which is 205 people equivalent to 74.8 percent and the rest are single respondents which is 69 people equivalent to 25.2 percent of the total study participants.

Distribution according to Teaching Experience
According to teaching experience, the majority of respondents have teaching experience for four to six years which is 133 people equivalent to 48.5 percent, followed by respondents who have teaching experience for one to three years which is 50 respondents equivalent to 18.2 percent. While respondents who have teaching experience for seven to ten years recorded a number of 42 people equivalent to 15.3 percent, and the last is the group of respondents who have teaching experience for ten years or more which is 49 people equivalent to 17.3 percent of the total respondents involved.

Distribution by School Location
The results of the analysis of teaching locations showed that the majority of respondents who participated in this study were respondents who teach primary schools in urban areas, which is 176 respondents equivalent to 64.2 percent followed by respondents who teach in rural schools as much as 35.8 percent equivalent to 98 respondents.

Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale
Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale instrument short version, 18 items were analyzed using IBM SPSS application version 28.0 which showed the validity and reliability of the overall item Cronbach's alpha coefficient value was α = 0.65.In general, values of Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient α > 0.6 were accepted in the study and represented the items in the reliable construct.

Perceived Stress Scale COVID-19 version (PSS-10-C)
Meanwhile, for the analysis of validity and reliability of 10 items, the Perceived Stress Scale version COVID-19 (PSS-10-C) was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 28.0 which showed the validity and   The minimum psychological well-being rate has a low score assessed with an overall score of 15 and below. While the highest level of psychological well-being is 28 and above. Based on Figure 2, the wellbeing score shows that the majority of teachers have a score range of 21 to 25. In general, it can be concluded that the psychological well-being of primary school teachers in Selangor is at a moderate level during the Movement Control Order (MCO). The results show that the stress level of primary school teachers is at a moderate level. The results of this study are also similar to the findings of teacher stress levels reported by (Serdar Sucan, 2019). The study conducted on teachers in Turkey showed that teachers face moderate stress of 53.6 percent, followed by 33.7 percent of high stress level and the lowest equivalent to 12.7 percent. In addition, moderate levels of stress were also felt by teachers in the Philippines during the pandemic period. (Ocudo et al., 2020) reported that 61 percent of teachers experienced moderate stress, followed by 31.4 percent experienced low stress, and the latter only 7.6 percent of teachers experienced high stress during the pandemic season.

Figure 2. Distribution of total psychological well-being scores
However, different findings were identified from the results of previous studies conducted by researchers in Indonesia, Pakistan, and Canada who reported that teachers face high stress due to drastic changes in their work environment. (M Shabbir Ali et. Al, 2020; UA Izzati et. Al, 2021;Teacher Mental Health Check-In Survey, 2020). This is because the study conducted is more specific and focused on certain things that cause stress to teachers during the pandemic season. This finding is supported by a statement from (Fronso et. Al, 2020) who mentioned that during a crisis such as the Covid -19 pandemic, it is usually reported that there will be adverse stress on the individuals involved.
In short, the level of stress faced among teachers varies according to the study conducted. Demographic factors such as respondents backgrounds, causes of stress, and different measurement methods contributed to the differences in study findings.
Question 2: Identifying Differences in the Level of Psychological Well-Being of Primary School Teachers Based on Gender in Selangor during the Movement Control Order Period.
The environmental development item showed the highest concern compared to the other items, followed by the items of self-acceptance, environmental mastery, positive relationships and life goals. While the item of autonomy that is self-control showed the lowest score due to the lack of respondents concern about self-control. The results showed that teachers regardless of gender had similar scores according to the dimensions tested in this psychological well-being test. There is no significant difference between the genders of primary school teachers in Selangor according to the level of psychological wellbeing during the MCO period.  The lowest stress level indicates a score range of 0 -13. In this study, the minimum score is 14 indications to moderate stress level, and the highest stress level recorded is 33. The results were analyzed according to the frequency indicating the mean value and standard deviation. The results of the survey found that none of the teachers had low stress, while the teachers who felt the highest level of stress was only 20.8 percent of the total N = 274. The majority of teachers had a score range of 16 -26 with a mean value of 23.16. So it can be concluded that the level of stress felt by primary school teachers in Selangor is at a moderate level during the Movement Control Order (MCO).  The results of the study show that the level of well-being of primary school teachers is at a moderate level. These findings are similar to findings from researchers in Indonesia (UA Izzati, 2021) who showed that teachers have moderate and high levels of psychological well-being. However, the findings of a study on teachers in Indonesia showed that the majority of teachers have a high level of psychological well-being of 80.5 percent compared to a moderate level of 19.5 percent.
Question 4: Identifying the Level of Stress Perceived by Primary School Teachers based on Gender in Selangor during the Movement Control Order Period.
The results of the study found that the majority of teachers have moderate levels of stress regardless of gender. The majority of female teacher respondents experienced moderate stress of 79.30 percent, which is less than the male teacher respondents who also recorded a moderate level of stress of 78.90 percent. The percentage difference between the sexes is too small at only 0.4 percent. In addition, only 20.70 percent of female teacher respondents recorded a higher level of stress compared to male teachers of 21.10 percent. Through these findings, it can be concluded that there is no significant difference between the genders of primary school teachers in Selangor according to the level of stress felt during the MCO period.

Figure 5. Level of psychological well-being by gender
Six dimensions encompassing psychological well-being were found to be closely related to findings according to individual profiles such as age, gender, and health condition. (Clarke et al., 2000) reported that the subscale of life goals and personal development showed a close relationship to differences in respondents' age profiles, hence environmental mastery items were not related to individual health and functional status, while gender differences were evidence of positive relationship dimensions with individuals. others, when women were reported to have higher relationship scores than men.
The results of a study of psychological well-being to female teachers in Indonesia showed a high rate of psychological well-being compared to male teachers with a value difference of 23.4 percent (Izzati, 2021). These findings are in line with the results of a study (Cicognani, 2011) that reported female adolescents had higher rates of psychological well-being than males. One of the factors that contributes to the psychological well-being of women during this pandemic season is because they work from home. So the minds of women are calmer in the house because they can manage the family and work in the same place (Izzati, 2021). This opinion is supported by (Ahtrenzen, 1990;Rowe & Bentley, 1992;Zhang et al., 2020) when they stated that women gain a positive impact when given the opportunity to increase the warmth of family relationships which also leads to the satisfaction of family life.
Nevertheless, the findings of this study differ from the results of other studies because the survey results of this study show that the rates of psychological well-being of female and male teachers are almost similar. Each recorded a moderate level with no significant differences. This is due to the existence of differences in age and maturity factors of the respondents involved. For example, female teacher respondents in Indonesia aged 30 to 40 years and the majority are married, tend to have a high level of psychological wellbeing. Meanwhile, in this study, the majority of female teachers are aged 21 -30 years. It is common knowledge that an individual's psychological well-being increases with maturity.

Conclusion
Although the results of the study showed that teachers have moderate levels of stress and psychological well-being, but if the situation are ignored is feared to be increased the levels of stress, which can lead to more serious mental health problems such as extreme anxiety and depression. This study is expected to reduce the rate of stress faced by educators. At this stage, tele-counseling or online mental health advisory services can be conducted specifically for the affected educators. It is hoped that Ministry of Education will be able to improve online learning methods as well as update the home-based teaching and learning guidelines in order to ease the workload of educators.
In general, this study does not represent the level of psychological well-being of the teacher population in Malaysia because the population sample is too small, moreover there is bias in sample selection because only interested and emotionally affected teachers participate in this study. In addition, the questionnaire conducted is superficial, due to the lack of policy variables that successfully give a real impact to the situation of teachers during this pandemic.
It is hoped that further research can be carried out in more detail according to the factors that are deemed appropriate to measure the actual state of stress felt during the pandemic, especially to educators. In addition, it is hoped that this study can be implemented widely with access at the national level with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education and related sector so that it can successfully preserve the psychological health of educators to ensure the well-being of students and the continuity of the national education system.