Teachers' Work and Emotions

Being a teacher is often thought of as an emotionally fulfilling job, with many positive experiences in watching students grow and mature. However, as Tsang's research shows, there are plenty of negative emotional experiences in this line of work as well. Given the recent attention towards mental health and well-being, this book addresses these negative experiences and provides recommendations for dealing with them. Focusing on teachers in Hong Kong, Tsang investigates the social mechanisms that arouse such negative emotional experiences, otherwise known as caam2. He asserts that these feelings are socially constructed, and it is only by understanding the causes and feelings can we begin to improve teachers' emotional well-being and teaching quality. Using a theoretical framework based on a critical review and synthesis of five existing perspectives, including labor process perspective, school administration perspective, emotional labor perspective, social interaction perspective, and teacher identity perspective, Tsang does precisely that, exploring the social process of these emotional experiences and the interplay between teacher agency and social structure. These findings go a long way in ameliorating teacher experiences all over the world.

Kwok Kuen Tsang is Associate Professor at College of Educational Administration, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, China

Acknowledgement List of tables Chapter 1 Introduction: A Need of Sociological Inquiry into Teachers' Emotional Experiences Chapter 2 Sociological Perspectives of Teachers' Emotional Experiences Chapter 3 Values and Goals of Teaching Chapter 4 Power and Status, Workload, and Emotional Experiences in Teaching Chapter 5 School Administrative System and Emotional Experiences in Teaching Chapter 6 Structural Education Reforms and Emotional Experiences in Teaching Chapter 7 Positive Student-related Matters and Emotional Experiences in Teaching Chapter 8 Conclusion: Teachers as Disempowered Moral Agents References Index