Four modes of transformative agency: morphogenetic portraits of teachers in Russian-medium schools in Estonia

ABSTRACT

In this article, I examine the unique educational context of Estonia, which is distinct due to its parallelism (schools with Russian and Estonian languages of instruction co-exist in one national space). I introduce the transformative modes of agency of teachers from schools with Russian as the language of instruction using a morphogenetic approach in combination with symbolic interactionism. Applying a semi-structured interview method with 27 teachers around Estonia, I develop four ‘modes of transformation.’ My main conclusion is that teachers’ most morphogenetic practices are predominantly connected with social reproduction, while the practices they reflexively choose to replicate are consistently personally transformative.

KEYWORDS:

• Social morphogenesis
• transformation
• agency
• minority teachers
• social reproduction

Acknowledgments

I am immensely grateful to my supervisor, Krista Loogma and co-supervisor, Meril Ümarik, for their guidance and support. I am also thankful to the reviewers for their careful reading and Robert Davis for proofreading this text. Finally, my main gratitude goes to all the teachers of Estonia who took part in this study, particularly those whose portraits I used for this article. I acknowledge that some of the teachers are quite recognizable through their modes of transformation, however, presenting them as such allows me to give them a voice.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Disclaimer

All interviews were collected for scientific purposes only. The text is not allowed to be used in media (press, TV, etc.) to preserve the confidentiality of the participants.

Notes

1. Innove Foundation was an authority that, from 2003 until 2020, was responsible for a full range of activities coordinating lifelong learning and implementing relevant projects (including the national examination) with EU structural aid.

2. The Tiger Leap (Tiigrihüpe) Program was launched in 1996 by the Tiger Leap Foundation. It was built on three pillars – computers and the internet, basic teacher training, and native-language electronic courseware for general education institutions.

3. Internet resources in the Russian language.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Liudmila Zaichenko

Liudmila Zaichenko is a doctoral student at the School of Educational Sciences, Tallinn University. This article is part of her PhD dissertation, which is dedicated to the professional agency of teachers in Russian-medium schools in Estonia. Her research interests include qualitative research methodology, cultural sociology, the sociological concept of agency, and Archer’s morphogenetic approach.