Human elements and the pragmatic approach in the Australian, Scottish and Swedish standards for newly qualified teachers

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Self-conscious emotion: how two teachers explore the emotional work of teaching

Teachers are constantly involved in emotional management. This chapter focuses on two second year teachers and the self-conscious emotional work of teaching. Both teachers were working in a prep ( 5-year-olds) class. The teachers engaged in The Participatory Inquiry Program (PIP), which is framed by active and critical reflections on classroom practices. The teachers collaborated with each other, firstly filming the other\u27s practice, and then acting as a critical peer when reviewing the other\u27s film. Teachers also examined internal feelings and thought processes that influenced their actions. The teachers concluded their participation in PIP by narrating their experience and learning. These narratives were then analysed by focusing on how they became cognisant of emotion and emotion regulation that enhances practice and learning outcomes. Emotion work for these two teachers revolved around three key themes: the emotion work with regard to colleagues; the emotional work that arises in relation to students (feelings of love; annoyance, anger), and emotion and self-awareness

Resuscitating students’ learning : exploring the “Living Dead” phenomenon

There is research spanning the 20th century on student disengagement. Despite all the research, the problem remains. It is time to adopt a different perspective. This article attempts to make transparent the influences on disengagement in schools by applying Jean Gebser’s (1985) empirical phenomenological study of cultural consciousness. What differentiates this approach from previous arguments is the basic premise that the “problem” of disengagement lies not with an individual or group, but with the cultural consciousness

Failure to thrive: mid-career women in higher education

Gender underrepresentation in higher education (HE) is a persistent global phenomenon. The purpose of this research was to re-examine it through symbolic interactionism (SI). Eight women aspiring to leadership were invited to participate in semi structured interviews after attending a leadership programme specifically designed to enhance their prospects. Analysis indicated ambiguities and contradictions surround notions of leadership, as well as opportunities for leadership. This was evidenced by their appraisal of the existing leadership, speculations regarding their leadership capacity, how the participants position themselves and are positioned in their workplace. Actively “paying it forward” was seen as facilitating promotion, and line managers’ familiarity with the work undertaken by aspirants. Formal leadership training was advocated rather than experiential processes.&nbsp

Teacher performance assessment in teacher education : an example in Malaysia

As part of a cross-cultural collaboration, a teacher performance assessment (TPA) was implemented during 2009 in three Malaysian institutes of teacher education. This paper reports on the TPA for graduating primary teachers in Malaysia. The investigation focused on the pre-service teachers’ perceptions about whether the TPA provided them with an opportunity to document successfully their professional learning and professional practice. Successful completion of the Malaysian TPA was closely aligned to successful relationships, support and collaboration between Malaysian lecturers and pre-service teachers, and between pre-service teachers and their classroom teachers. Overall, the TPA did provide pre-service teachers with an opportunity to focus on the connection between theory and professional learning during field-work, and to become reflective evidence-based practitioners. Recommendations for improving the assessment of pre-service teachers are discussed

The emotional labour of the aspirant leader: traversing school politics

The emotions of the aspirant leader are underexplored. In this chapter, we detail how aspirants experience the transition from teacher to leader and report on the kinds of emotional labour associated with the transition. This was examined during events of high emotional arousal for 130 school aspirants: when they felt professionally wounded, either by colleagues, leaders, parents or students. During a time of wounding, emotional work and emotional labour hinged on the dissonance between \u27display rules\u27 of the school and what aspirants\u27 actually felt. Exploring the wounding stories revealed common display rules, which were often broken. Breaking these rules always had consequences and emotional correlates. The most prevalent form of emotional labour was surface acting. The.final discovery was the resilience of the aspirants as they recovered. Invariably, aspirants progressed through an emotion cycle of Regrouping, Recovery and Resolution. The quality of collegial relationships was the key to resolving the woundings