Teacher emotions in their professional lives: implications for teacher development

ABSTRACT

This study aimed at understanding teacher emotions through interviewing 25 and surveying 1,492 primary teachers in China using a mixed method. Content analysis was employed to analyse the data using the five nested ecological systems – microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macro-system, and chronosystem. Statistical techniques such as mean score, Multivariate analysis of variance, Univariate analysis, and effect size were used to deal with the quantitative data. Qualitative results show that 25 teachers described 65 emotions including 33 positive and 32 negative emotions. The number of emotions that teachers reported decreased as the distance from the teachers increased. The quantitative survey comprised 14 positive and 17 negative emotion items. Given the powerful role that emotions and relationships play in education, the discussion was made with regard to classroom management, emotional display rules, and teacher vulnerability. The implications for teacher development and well-being were provided accordingly.

Abbreviations: MANOVA; ANOVA

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher emotion
• Chinese education
• teacher education
• mixed method

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Junjun Chen

Junjun Chen is an assistant professor in the Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Her research focuses on measuring teacher and principal effectiveness and school improvement. In pursuing these concerns, she investigate teachers’ and principals’ beliefs and how these beliefs are related with each other.