Maria Antónia Martins

Teresa Pessoa

Piedade Vaz-Rebelo

Dom Duarte High School/University of Coimbra

ATEE Annual Conference 2010:

Responsibility, Challenge and Support in Teachers' Life-long Professional Development

Teachers’ emotions and feelings

when faced with the Teaching Career Statute

Budapest, August, 2010

The main objective of this work was:

• To make public the emotions and feelings of secondary education teachers following the implementation of the educational reforms of the 17th Constitutional Government in Portugal.

Characteristics

of the Teaching Career Statute

(TCS)

Teachers emotions and

Feelings when faced with TCS

Methodology

of the research work

Analysis of data

Teaching Career Statute (TCS): Teachers’ Emotions and Feelings

• It was approved against a background of widespread opposition and conflict between Portuguese teachers and the Ministry of Education;

Main characteristics/problems of TCS

• It divides the teachers into two levels, resulting in a two-tier profession

Teachers

“Titular” teachers

This division was made according to the following rules:

- Evaluation period limited to the last 7 years of career;

- Administrative, non-pedagogical and scientific criteria.

Main characteristics/problems of TCS

• It presents a new Evaluation Model.

In the previous model… In the 17th government model…

Teachers had to produce a critical report of one’s teaching and non-teaching activity;

There was only one category of teacher

The grades obtained by students count for each teacher evaluation

Evaluation is made by peers (by “titular” teachers)

Teachers are categorized according to a pyramidal model

Main characteristics/problems of TCS

Defining and distinguishing emotions and feelings according to various authorsTeacher’s emotions and

feelings were analysed in two different moments Relating teachers emotions and

feelings with their life cycles according to different researchers

Darwin

James

LangeCannon

DamásioEkman

Friesen

Goleman

Fears and Malaise

Brooks

Conley

Fernandes

Jesus

Paths

Huberman

Esteve

There are also recent studies of teachers’ emotions which are directly related to reforms

Veen and Sleegers (Netherlands) (2009)

Kelchtermans (Belgium) (2005)

Methodology

Methodological choice

The interviewTarget subjects

Content analysis

Categories and subcategories

Categories Subcategories

Career

Service time

Positions held

Continuous training

Situation in career

Teachers Career Statute

(TCS)

Moment when content is learned

Type of knowledge

Weak points

Strong points

Emotions/Feelings

Seriation of “titular” teachers

Rules of seriation

Emotions/feelings

Teachers Evaluation Model

(TEM)

Moment when content is learned

Type of knowledge

Weak points

Strong points

Emotions/Feelings

Classification of emotions and feelings (according to Damásio)

Presentation of feelings and emotions of interviewed teachers(description and analysis)Analysis of data

Analysis of dataFeelings and Emotions of interviewed teachers

Example:• Teacher’s career statute Feelings and emotions expressed by the teachers

Categories Subcategories Indicators Count

TCS Emotions/

feelings

Instability

Revulsion

Anomie

Fear for professional future

Anger

Selfishness

Injustice

5

4

3

2

1

1

1

Final considerations

From this study we stress the following aspects:

• The non-recognition of competence of evaluators.

• A strong predominance of a negative side of emotions and feelings of teachers interviewed (evidenced in greater numbers for the TEM).

• The feelings / emotions with the highest counts are malaise, injustice, fear and anger.

Final considerations

• It was the more experienced teachers who expressed the most feelings/emotions.

• The only positive Feelings / Emotions mentioned are teachers uniting in contesting to the model and relief at not having to perform the duties of assessor, expressing negativity:

"I am an evaluator with no-one to evaluate,

thank God!"