Navigating “Praxis Shock”: Disentangling an Early Career Teacher’s Emotions and Actions in Organizational Socialization Through a Micropolitical Lens
Main Article Content
Abstract
In the present research, we seek to study the process of organizational socialization of early career teachers (ECTs) through a micropolitical lens that focuses on the issues of power, control and influence as part of the ECTs’ sense-making of and acting in their job. By means of a case study with a beginning Vietnamese university teacher, we attempt to answer two questions: (1) what sorts of emotions does the ECT experience in her organizational socialization, and in challenging micropolitical situations in particular? (2) what kinds of action does the ECT employ in such situations? The research material consists of three narrative interviews within one academic year. The findings highlight the importance of the micropolitics of the school as an organization and the multiple emotional dimensions that are present when ECTs strive to reconcile the school micropolitics with their own beliefs and values as teachers. Along with that, the research contributes knowledge about how ECTs learn to negotiate challenging micropolitical situations using diverse types of micropolitical actions. Implications are also proposed with regard to teacher training and induction.
Article Details
Keywords
micropolitics, early career teachers, emotions, micropolitical actions
References
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Ball, S. (1987). The micro-politics of the school: Towards a theory of school organisation. Methuen.
Ball, S. (1994). Micro-politics of schools. In T. Husén & T. Postlethwaite (Eds.), The international encyclopedia of education (2nd ed., pp. 3824–3826). Pergamon.
Beauchamp, C., & Thomas, L. (2009). Understanding teacher identity: An overview of issues in the literature and implications for teacher education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 39(2), 175–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640902902252
Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(2), 107–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2003.07.001
Blase, J. (1988). The everyday political perspective of teachers: Vulnerability and conservatism. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 1(2), 125–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839880010202
Blase, J. (1991). The politics of life in schools. Power, conflict, and cooperation. Sage.
Blase, J. (1997). The micro-politics of teaching. In B. J. Biddle, T. L. Good & I. F. Goodson (Eds.), International handbook of teachers and teaching (pp. 939–970). Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Bullough, R. V. (2009). Seeking Eudaimonia: The emotions in learning to teach and to mentor. In P. A. Schutz & M. S. Zembylas (Eds.), Advances in teacher emotion research (pp. 33–53). Springer.
Curry, M., Jaxon, K., Russell, J. L., Callahan, M. A., & Bicais, J. (2008). Examining the practice of beginning teachers’ micropolitical literacy within professional inquiry communities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(3), 660–673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.10.007
Day, C., Kington, A., Stobart, G., & Sammons, P. (2006). The personal and professional selves of teachers: Stable and unstable identities. British Educational Research Journal, 32(4), 601–616. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920600775316
De Vries, S., Van De Grift, W. J. C. M., & Jansen, E. P. W. A. (2014). How teachers' beliefs about learning and teaching relate to their continuing professional development. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 20(3), 338–357. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2013.848521
Friedman, I. A., & Kass, E. (2002). Teacher self-efficacy: A classroom-organization conceptualization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(6), 675–686. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(02)00027-6
Gold, Y. (1996). Beginning teacher support: Attrition, mentoring, and induction. In J. Sikula (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 548–594). Macmillan.
Hebert, E., & Worthy, T. (2001). Does the first year of teaching have to be a bad one? A case study of success. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(8), 897–911. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00039-7
Hong, J. Y. (2012). Why do some beginning teachers leave the school, and others stay? Understanding teacher resilience through psychological lenses. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 18(4), 417–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2012.696044
Hoyle, E. (1982). Micro-politics of educational organisations. Educational Management and Administration, 10, 87–98.
Intrator, S. M. (2006). Beginning teachers and the emotional drama of the classroom. Journal of Teacher Education, 57(3), 232–239. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487105285890
Jenkins, K., Smith, H., & Maxwell, T. (2009). Challenging experiences faced by beginning casual teachers: Here one day and gone the next! Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 37(1), 63–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598660802616443
Jokikokko, K., Uitto, M., Deketelaere, A., & Estola, E. (2017). A beginning teacher in emotionally intensive micropolitical situations. International Journal of Educational Research, 81, 61–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2016.11.001
Kelchtermans, G. (2005). Teachers’ emotions in educational reforms: Self-understanding, vulnerable commitment and micropolitical literacy. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21(8), 995–1006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2005.06.009
Kelchtermans, G. (2019). Early career teachers and their need for support: Thinking again. In A. Sullivan, B. Johnson & M. Simons (Eds.), Attracting and keeping the best teachers: Issues and opportunities (pp. 83–98). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8621-3_5
Kelchtermans, G., & Ballet, K. (2002a). Micropolitical literacy: Reconstructing a neglected dimension in teacher development. International Journal of Educational Research, 37(8), 755–767. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-0355(03)00069-7
Kelchtermans, G., & Ballet, K. (2002b). The micropolitics of teacher induction: A narrative-biographical study on teacher socialisation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(1), 105–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00053-1
Kuzmic, J. (1994). A beginning teacher’s search for meaning: Teacher socialisation, organisational literacy, and empowerment. Teaching and Teacher Education, 10(1), 15–27.
Lassila, E. T., Jokikokko, K., Uitto, M., & Estola, E. (2017). The challenges to discussing emotionally loaded stories in Finnish teacher education. European Journal of Teacher Education, 40(3), 379–393. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2017.1315401
Lassila, E. T., Timonen, V., Uitto, M., & Estola, E. (2017). Storied emotional distances in the relationships between beginning teachers and school principals. British Educational Research Journal, 43(3), 486–504. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3280
Lieblich, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R., & Zilber, T. B. (1998). Narrative research: Reading, analysis and interpretation. Sage Publications.
Lindqvist, H., Weurlander, M., Wernerson, A., & Thornberg, R. (2020). Conflicts viewed through the micro-political lens: Beginning teachers’ coping strategies for emotionally challenging situations. Research Papers in Education, 35(6), 746–765. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1633559
Liu, Y., & Zhang, D. (2014). Development of questionnaire on emotional labor among primary and secondary school teachers. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 3(1), 46-55. https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v3i1.551
Loughran, J., Brown, J., & Doecke, B. (2001). Continuities and discontinuities: The transition from pre-service to first-year teaching. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 7(1), 7–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540600125107
Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass.
Mesker, P., Wassink, H., & Bakker, C. (2018). Experiential continuity: How newly qualified teachers’ past international teaching experiences influence their current personal interpretative framework. Professional Development in Education, 44(3), 444–459. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2017.1347806
O’Shea, S. (2014). Transitions and turning points: Exploring how first-in-family female students story their transition to university and student identity formation identity formation. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 27(2), 135–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2013.771226
Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for human sciences. Sage Publications.
Saldaña, J. (2015). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Savin-Baden, M., & Major, C. H. (2013). Qualitative research: The essential guide to theory and practice. Routledge.
Uitto, M., Jokikokko, K., & Estola, E. (2015). Virtual special issue on teachers and emotions in teaching and teacher education (TATE) in 1985-2014. Teaching and Teacher Education, 50, 124–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.05.008
Vanassche, E., & Kelchtermans, G. (2016). A narrative analysis of a teacher educator’s professional learning journey. European Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 355–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2016.1187127
Vanderlinde, R., & Kelchtermans, G. (2013). Learning to get along at work. Phi Delta Kappan, 94(7), 33–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171309400713
Veenman, S. (1984). Perceived problems of beginning teachers. Review of Educational Research, 54(2), 143–178.
Wideen, M., Mayer-Smith, J., & Moon, B. (1998). A critical analysis of the research on learning to teach: Making the case for an ecological perspective on inquiry. Review of Educational Research, 68(2), 130–178. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543068002130
Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Zeichner, K., & Gore, J. (1990). Teacher socialisation. In R. Houston (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 329–348). Macmillan.
Zembylas, M. (2007). Theory and methodology in researching emotions in education. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 30(1), 57–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437270701207785
Ball, S. (1987). The micro-politics of the school: Towards a theory of school organisation. Methuen.
Ball, S. (1994). Micro-politics of schools. In T. Husén & T. Postlethwaite (Eds.), The international encyclopedia of education (2nd ed., pp. 3824–3826). Pergamon.
Beauchamp, C., & Thomas, L. (2009). Understanding teacher identity: An overview of issues in the literature and implications for teacher education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 39(2), 175–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640902902252
Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(2), 107–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2003.07.001
Blase, J. (1988). The everyday political perspective of teachers: Vulnerability and conservatism. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 1(2), 125–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839880010202
Blase, J. (1991). The politics of life in schools. Power, conflict, and cooperation. Sage.
Blase, J. (1997). The micro-politics of teaching. In B. J. Biddle, T. L. Good & I. F. Goodson (Eds.), International handbook of teachers and teaching (pp. 939–970). Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Bullough, R. V. (2009). Seeking Eudaimonia: The emotions in learning to teach and to mentor. In P. A. Schutz & M. S. Zembylas (Eds.), Advances in teacher emotion research (pp. 33–53). Springer.
Curry, M., Jaxon, K., Russell, J. L., Callahan, M. A., & Bicais, J. (2008). Examining the practice of beginning teachers’ micropolitical literacy within professional inquiry communities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(3), 660–673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.10.007
Day, C., Kington, A., Stobart, G., & Sammons, P. (2006). The personal and professional selves of teachers: Stable and unstable identities. British Educational Research Journal, 32(4), 601–616. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920600775316
De Vries, S., Van De Grift, W. J. C. M., & Jansen, E. P. W. A. (2014). How teachers' beliefs about learning and teaching relate to their continuing professional development. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 20(3), 338–357. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2013.848521
Friedman, I. A., & Kass, E. (2002). Teacher self-efficacy: A classroom-organization conceptualization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(6), 675–686. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(02)00027-6
Gold, Y. (1996). Beginning teacher support: Attrition, mentoring, and induction. In J. Sikula (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 548–594). Macmillan.
Hebert, E., & Worthy, T. (2001). Does the first year of teaching have to be a bad one? A case study of success. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(8), 897–911. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00039-7
Hong, J. Y. (2012). Why do some beginning teachers leave the school, and others stay? Understanding teacher resilience through psychological lenses. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 18(4), 417–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2012.696044
Hoyle, E. (1982). Micro-politics of educational organisations. Educational Management and Administration, 10, 87–98.
Intrator, S. M. (2006). Beginning teachers and the emotional drama of the classroom. Journal of Teacher Education, 57(3), 232–239. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487105285890
Jenkins, K., Smith, H., & Maxwell, T. (2009). Challenging experiences faced by beginning casual teachers: Here one day and gone the next! Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 37(1), 63–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598660802616443
Jokikokko, K., Uitto, M., Deketelaere, A., & Estola, E. (2017). A beginning teacher in emotionally intensive micropolitical situations. International Journal of Educational Research, 81, 61–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2016.11.001
Kelchtermans, G. (2005). Teachers’ emotions in educational reforms: Self-understanding, vulnerable commitment and micropolitical literacy. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21(8), 995–1006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2005.06.009
Kelchtermans, G. (2019). Early career teachers and their need for support: Thinking again. In A. Sullivan, B. Johnson & M. Simons (Eds.), Attracting and keeping the best teachers: Issues and opportunities (pp. 83–98). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8621-3_5
Kelchtermans, G., & Ballet, K. (2002a). Micropolitical literacy: Reconstructing a neglected dimension in teacher development. International Journal of Educational Research, 37(8), 755–767. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-0355(03)00069-7
Kelchtermans, G., & Ballet, K. (2002b). The micropolitics of teacher induction: A narrative-biographical study on teacher socialisation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(1), 105–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00053-1
Kuzmic, J. (1994). A beginning teacher’s search for meaning: Teacher socialisation, organisational literacy, and empowerment. Teaching and Teacher Education, 10(1), 15–27.
Lassila, E. T., Jokikokko, K., Uitto, M., & Estola, E. (2017). The challenges to discussing emotionally loaded stories in Finnish teacher education. European Journal of Teacher Education, 40(3), 379–393. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2017.1315401
Lassila, E. T., Timonen, V., Uitto, M., & Estola, E. (2017). Storied emotional distances in the relationships between beginning teachers and school principals. British Educational Research Journal, 43(3), 486–504. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3280
Lieblich, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R., & Zilber, T. B. (1998). Narrative research: Reading, analysis and interpretation. Sage Publications.
Lindqvist, H., Weurlander, M., Wernerson, A., & Thornberg, R. (2020). Conflicts viewed through the micro-political lens: Beginning teachers’ coping strategies for emotionally challenging situations. Research Papers in Education, 35(6), 746–765. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1633559
Liu, Y., & Zhang, D. (2014). Development of questionnaire on emotional labor among primary and secondary school teachers. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 3(1), 46-55. https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v3i1.551
Loughran, J., Brown, J., & Doecke, B. (2001). Continuities and discontinuities: The transition from pre-service to first-year teaching. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 7(1), 7–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540600125107
Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass.
Mesker, P., Wassink, H., & Bakker, C. (2018). Experiential continuity: How newly qualified teachers’ past international teaching experiences influence their current personal interpretative framework. Professional Development in Education, 44(3), 444–459. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2017.1347806
O’Shea, S. (2014). Transitions and turning points: Exploring how first-in-family female students story their transition to university and student identity formation identity formation. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 27(2), 135–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2013.771226
Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for human sciences. Sage Publications.
Saldaña, J. (2015). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Savin-Baden, M., & Major, C. H. (2013). Qualitative research: The essential guide to theory and practice. Routledge.
Uitto, M., Jokikokko, K., & Estola, E. (2015). Virtual special issue on teachers and emotions in teaching and teacher education (TATE) in 1985-2014. Teaching and Teacher Education, 50, 124–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.05.008
Vanassche, E., & Kelchtermans, G. (2016). A narrative analysis of a teacher educator’s professional learning journey. European Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 355–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2016.1187127
Vanderlinde, R., & Kelchtermans, G. (2013). Learning to get along at work. Phi Delta Kappan, 94(7), 33–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171309400713
Veenman, S. (1984). Perceived problems of beginning teachers. Review of Educational Research, 54(2), 143–178.
Wideen, M., Mayer-Smith, J., & Moon, B. (1998). A critical analysis of the research on learning to teach: Making the case for an ecological perspective on inquiry. Review of Educational Research, 68(2), 130–178. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543068002130
Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Zeichner, K., & Gore, J. (1990). Teacher socialisation. In R. Houston (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 329–348). Macmillan.
Zembylas, M. (2007). Theory and methodology in researching emotions in education. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 30(1), 57–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437270701207785