“Ofta pratar jag med mina kollegor för att då kan jag få lite perspektiv” - En kvalitativ studie om lärares upplevelse och hantering av emotionella krav samt deras erfarenheter av välmående i yrket

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to, from teacher’s perspective, discuss and increase the understanding of experiences that give them a feeling of wellbeing in their daily work when dealing with the emotional demands that are required in their profession. The study analyzing their experiences and their ways to handle emotional demands from theory about emotions, rules and strategies as well as ability to emotional reflexivity. The study has been made as an innovative study of interviews with a phenomenological research approach to be able to study the phenomenon emotions and handling of emotions in teacher’s own perspective. The empirical material has been qualitative interviews with teachers in the municipal elementary school, 1 to 9 grade. The study shows that teachers experience various emotional demands when meeting pupils and when meeting legal guardians. When working with pupils, the experience is above all, a feeling of shortness in connection with emotional demands, often due to a too heavy work pressure and sometimes very difficult cases. When meeting the pupils’ legal guardians the teachers experience emotional demands in complex cases. The study shows that in their profession, most of the teachers use adaptability in their expression of feelings by surface- or deep-acting when experience emotions. The observation the teachers describe giving them experience of wellbeing is the pleasure in the relational and pedagogical work with the pupils, to be a part of a group where it is possible to talk and discuss with colleagues and spontaneous reflection with colleagues. The study shows that it is about the professional identity, that if teachers' professional knowledge about their own awareness in relational work increases, the risk of alienation may decrease. One conclusion is also that "buffer groups" are used as a forum for reacting and that regular collegial emotional reflexivity has no priority in teacher’s profession. This can lead to consequences for teacher’s health, it could be difficult to stay in their profession as long as they should prefer. The study conclusions could even be transferred to other contact-professions such as policeand nursing profession. So, the study propose further research on different kind of framework for collegial emotional reflexivity and it says it should be useful for work environment for other contact-professions where people experience a shortage of time.