Abstract
In this chapter we focus on the way teachers experience their job and their professional identity. Our narrative and biographical approach allows for an in-depth reconstruction of the political and moral tensions teachers experience; the pressure to reconceptualise their “selves”; and as a consequence the emotional quality of their work lives. We argue that the changes in the working conditions deeply affect teachers both in their professional actions and the emotional experience of the job. Teachers experience intense emotional conflicts as they struggle to cope with conflicting identity scenarios, the web of (conflicting) loyalties they find themselves in, etc. Our findings confirm, exemplify and deepen earlier work on vulnerability as a structural characteristic of the teaching job.
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Notes
- 1.
For reasons of anonymity the names of the respondents and schools are pseudonyms. Note that the name of the school and the names for the respondents from that school have the same first letter.
- 2.
In Flanders (Belgium), schools are grouped in three educational networks: (1) Community schools, being the public-authority schools provided by the Flemish government; (2) Subsidized public-authority schools, being the public-authority schools established by the provincial and city authorities; (3) Subsidized private-authorized schools, founded by private individuals, de facto associations and non-profit associations. Most of these schools are Catholic. In Flanders, subsidized private-authorized schools make up about 70% of all primary schools. They are, however, subsidized by the government in such a way that they actually operate as part of the public school system (e.g. parents don’t have to pay specific or extra school fees to enroll their children). To be financed (1) or subsidized (2 and 3) by the Flemish government, schools must meet the standards for rationalization; timetabling and quality of education (cf. minimum goals).
- 3.
“Diocesan examinations” are organized for all Catholic schools in a diocese, to allow for a comparison of their educational quality in terms of student outcomes (sixth Grades). Participation is not compulsory, nor necessary.
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Kelchtermans, G., Ballet, K., Piot, L. (2009). Surviving Diversity in Times of Performativity: Understanding Teachers’ Emotional Experience of Change. In: Schutz, P., Zembylas, M. (eds) Advances in Teacher Emotion Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0564-2_11
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