Learning to teach as an intern: the emotions and the self

Abstract

Teaching is at its heart an emotional endeavor, yet the role of emotions in learning to teach is not often explored. Drawing upon the work of Robert Solomon, the authors offer a conception of emotions as evaluative judgments about incidents or objects in the world, and distinguish between emotion and mood. The study paints a picture of the emotional life of 16 intern teachers in their 1st year of teaching. Three sets of emotions, love, anger and contempt, and guilt are examined, leading to a description of a mood of vulnerability woven through the teaching lives of the interns. Implications for those who mentor beginning teachers are presented.