When Good People are Happy People: Looking at Emotional Expressivity of Student-Centered Junior High School Teachers

Abstract

Learning emotional responsibility, including emotionally letting go, is an important part of the development of every teacher. When letting go is difficult, it can be helpful to have examples of people who have already matured. This study focuses on the emotional stance, or awareness, of eight effective student-oriented teachers. Sixteen different teachers, from six different middle schools were recommended by their principals as excellent classroom managers. From these, eight were chosen who demonstrated clear authority and a student-centered approach. These eight teachers were interviewed according to the Hilda Taba method for the Interpretation of Data (Maker and Schiever 2005). The questions were structured to help teachers consider their feelings and attitudes as causes of events. When the interviews had been transcribed, they were examined for common emotional dispositions. The dispositions found included those that orient teachers toward perspective taking, considering students to be their own authority, desiring relationships with students, having a positive attitude and being emotionally present. Implications for education include allowing students to determine a portion of their final evaluation.