Self-Study of a Teacher’s Practices of and Experience with Emotion Regulation: Being and Becoming through Reflection and Engagement

ABSTRACT

Research on teacher emotion regulation is typically conducted by outsiders and focuses on how emotion is regulated. This self-study was conducted by a practicing teacher to explore the lived experience of teacher emotion regulation and the many influences that inspire the need for such regulation. Throughout a 14-week semester, daily “in-the-moment” recordings of emotion were collected as they arose, and analyzed weekly. With a critical friend, further analysis was conducted to explore the genesis of the emotion as well as the response and possible alternatives. We believe that understanding the experience of the emotion is possibly more important than how it is regulated. Through reflection, this teacher began to resolve deeper issues that had evoked negative emotions, which shifted her approach to difficult situations and reduced the amount of negative emotions experienced. We conclude that the research on emotion regulation should focus on understanding the underlying issue triggering the emotion than on controlling the emotions displayed.     

Feedback processing and emotion regulation in nursing students during internship

IntroductionAs feedback that nursing students receive during internships triggers emotional episodes, it results in changes in self-esteem, motivation, and learning behaviors. The adaptive or maladaptive nature of emotions is modulated via emotion regulation strategies.MethodTo understand how the students experienced and acted upon these emotional episodes, we applied an existential phenomenological approach.ResultsStudents experience a wide range of emotions in feedback situations. These emotions regularly require the use of emotion regulation strategies. We have described three kinds of such strategies. Based on the results of this and previous studies, we have developed a comprehensive model of feedback processing by students in the context of nursing internships, in which emotions and their regulation are central.DiscussionEmotion regulation strategies are often unconscious and should be developed by students during their training, especially in consciously designed feedback conditions of teachers and instructors, in which students should feel understood, respected, and invited to actively involve themselves in the processing of feedback. Finally, we make a few recommendations to education professionals.ConclusionsFeedback processing by future nurses during internships involves a complex emotional process that affects their behavior, either conducive to learning or not. Emotion regulation strategies may be required in these situations. Moreover, students' emotions are influenced by various determinants, which evolve in a circular dynamic as feedback occurs over time.     

‘Wading through children’s tears’: the emotional experiences of elementary school inspections, 1839–1911

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the emotional experiences of elementary school inspections, from the appointment of the first State school inspectors in 1839 to 1911 when Edward Holmes, the retiring chief inspector, signposted the prospects of a new era in elementary education. The paper is arranged in two parts: the first provides an outline of the origins and development of elementary school inspection, while the second discusses the potential contribution of emotions scholarship to inform our understanding of elementary schooling seen through the lens of inspection. Whereas previous studies have concentrated on the inspectorate’s administrative history in relation to school development, this paper’s contribution is to highlight what inspection sources reveal about elementary schools as sites of emotional expression and experience. While acknowledging the challenges a history of emotions framework presents, the paper concludes that such an approach offers a fresh perspective on inspection and school regimes in the past.     

Interactive Contributions of Attribution Biases and Emotional Intensity to Child–Friend Interaction Quality During Preadolescence

Using data from a subsample of 913 study children and their friends who participated in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the interactive contributions of child-reported attribution biases and teacher-reported child emotional intensity (EI) at Grade 4 (M = 9.9 years) to observed child–friend interaction at Grade 6 (M = 11.9 years) were examined. Study children's hostile attribution bias, combined with high EI, predicted more negative child–friend interaction. In contrast, benign attribution bias, combined with high EI, predicted more positive child–friend interaction. The findings are discussed in light of the “fuel” interpretation of EI, in which high-intensity emotions may motivate children to act on their cognitive biases for better or for worse.     

Perfectionism,Implicit Theories of Intelligence,and Taiwanese Eighth-Grade Students’ Academic Engagement

ABSTRACT

The authors attempted to examine how Taiwanese junior high school students’ perfectionistic tendencies and implicit theories of intelligence were related to their academic emotions and approach versus avoidance self-regulation, and to determine differences in contingent self-worth, emotions, and self-regulation among students with different subtypes of perfectionism. A total of 481 8th-grade Taiwanese students completed a self-reported survey assessing their perfectionistic tendencies, implicit theories of intelligence, academic emotions, behavioral self-regulation, and use of self-handicapping strategies. Results suggested that adaptive perfectionism enabled adolescents to experience positive emotions and to engage in behavioral self-regulation, whereas maladaptive perfectionism was positively associated with negative emotions and self-handicapping. In addition, the incremental theory of intelligence predicted positive affect and constructive coping. By contrast, the entity theory was positively correlated with negative emotions and self-handicapping. The authors also documented profiles of students with different perfectionistic tendencies. Findings showed that in general adaptive perfectionists displayed the healthiest emotions and self-regulatory styles. Implications for education and further research are discussed.     

The dark side of the exceptional: On moral exemplars,character education,and negative emotions

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on negative exemplarity-related emotions (NEREs) and on their educational implications. In this article, we first argue for the nonexpendability of negative emotions broadly conceived by defending their instrumental and intrinsic role in a good and flourishing life. We make the claim more specific by focusing on the narrower domain of NEREs and argue for their moral and educational significance by evaluating whether they fit the arguments provided in the previous section. We go on to propose three educational strategies to foster NEREs’ positive moral role. In conclusion, we point out that an exemplarist approach to character education would greatly benefit from a more fine-grained account of the emotions involved in the educational process and from a broader perspective on which of these emotions should be taken as valuable for educational purposes.     

Teachers Anonymous

ABSTRACT

The role of emotions in learning and teaching has largely been neglected in educational literature, particularly in higher education. Yet there are signs of increased interest in emotions in recent literature. This paper argues that emotions are a vital aspect of relationships. How we feel with and about others is central to the quality of those relationships. Thus, emotions matter in college teaching and learning as an aspect of enriching social and relational experiences that support student development. This paper discusses four key relationships in higher education: students with subject matter; students with teachers; students with other students; and students with their developing selves. For each key relationship, key literature is referenced, and suggestions for enhancing practice are offered.     

How emotions shape the relationship between a chemistry teacher and her high school students

In this article we analyse the interaction between a high school chemistry teacher and her students from two different classes, emphasizing how emotions, affects and feelings contributed to, or obstructed, the dynamic of interactions. The data come from an ethnographic research approach and include videotapes of the lessons, interviews and field notes. Using the distinction introduced by Damasio between primary and secondary emotions, and between emotions and feelings, we describe how the background feelings emerged in different ways in the two classrooms. In class B, the relationships were constructed in a friendly way from the very beginning. The positive emotions that contributed to raising positive background feelings occurred in a high number and frequency. In class A, the picture was completely different, with a higher number and frequency of negative emotions. Thus, emotions and background feelings that were constructed differently in each classroom were at the heart of the different outcomes in terms of attitudes towards chemistry that arose in the two classrooms. In the paper, we also discuss the implication of this kind of analysis for science teaching generally.     

An exploration around peer support for secondary pupils in Scotland with experience of self-harm

ABSTRACT

Literature highlights friends as a main support for young people who self-harm, yet limited research explores specific supports offered by friends, or any help required to provide successful support. This research aimed to determine how friends support young people who self-harm; what friends could further do; and additional help needed to be a supportive friend. An interpretative phenomenological analysis approach was used to explore participants’ lived experiences. Qualitative data were gathered from secondary pupils in Scotland via semi-structured interviews. Findings indicated that friends provide support by being directly there for young people, providing distractions and taking responsibility. Friends could consider young people’s perspectives more, initiate conversations about self-harm and spend more time with young people. Supportive friends speak to others for reassurance and would like additional people to provide support. Implications for practice included highlighting support provided by friends, normalising the term ‘self-harm’ and providing peer support training for friends.     

Educating the Emotions: Interior and Exterior Realities

In this paper Mike Radford questions a view of emotions which sees them as essentially an inner and subjective phenomenon discovered through processes of introspection and developing self awareness. This process of self-exploration is conducted through a combination of dialogue, encouraging pupils to talk about their feelings and explain them, and something akin to therapy. Such a perspective tends to be closely associated with the increasingly popular notion of emotional intelligence/literacy. In his view it is more productive to try to understand emotions in the context of objective understanding, in terms of the language and behaviours, and see them as public events open to common experience.     

Beginning teachers' situated emotions: A study of first classroom experiences

Using Peirce's three categories of experience (1931-1935), the authors categorized a group of teachers' emotions into different affective states. During ordinary teaching situations contradictory emotions were observed. The nature of the emotions was related to the teachers' level of dependence on the lesson plan and the need to maintain student activity and underlined the importance of emotions in learning to teach.     

Are learning skills associated with academic emotions elicited by master’s thesis work?

ABSTRACT

Academic emotions in the context of master’s thesis work is a highly understudied issue. This study examined the association between self-regulated learning skills and academic emotions elicited by master’s thesis work. Altogether, 84 behavioural sciences students conducting their master’s theses completed a survey comprised of a modified version of Pintrich’s Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MLSQ) and academic emotions derived from Pekrun’s (2006) Achievement Emotions Questionnaire complemented by enthusiasm. Linear and logistic regressions were employed in the data analyses. Higher skills in combining prior and new knowledge, application of theories, self-assessment and the combination of all learning skills were associated with higher positive academic emotions. Higher skills in self-assessment were associated with lower negative academic emotions. Higher combined learning skills were associated with higher pride and enthusiasm and lower shame elicited by master’s thesis work. Supporting students to develop their self-regulated learning skills might reflect positively on their academic emotions and vice versa.

Abbreviation: Self-regulated learning skills - (SRL) skills     

Children’s emotional and behavioral responses to peer provocation and early school adjustment

ABSTRACT

Even very young children think about their own and others’ behavior, including emotions. Such cognitions and emotions about the self and others convey information that is crucial to social interactions and relationships. The current study based on an integrated model of emotion processes and cognition in social information processing (SIP) aimed to explore students’ emotional and behavioral responses in SIP choices, and their association with teacher-reported early school adjustment. Two-hundred and thirty pre-school and first-grade primary school students were interviewed using the Challenging Situations Task (CST). CST assessed students’ emotional and behavioral responses to 12 unambiguous hypothetical peer provocation situations. Children’s preschool and first-grade primary teachers rated children’s early school adjustment with the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation (SCBE-30) measure. The results revealed that children chose mainly sad and angry emotions and socially competent and passive behaviors. We found a relationship both between sad emotions and socially competent behavior choices, and between angry emotion and aggressive behavior choices. Sad emotions and aggressive behavior choices were the main predictors of school adjustment. Children’s responses to peer provocation situations varied depending on how the children interpreted the situations. The results address the importance of children’s SIP and school adjustment.     

Teacher sensitivity in interaction with individual students: the role of teachers’ daily negative emotions

ABSTRACT

Research stresses the importance of teacher sensitivity for the development of special needs students, including students with attachment problems. However, little is known about the antecedents of teacher sensitivity. This study investigated associations between teachers’ daily negative emotions and teacher sensitivity towards individual students. Data were collected from 71 teacher-student dyads in special education primary schools and included students with mild to severe attachment problems (6 to 10 years old). Teachers reported their daily negative activating (e.g. anger) and deactivating (e.g. sadness) emotions in relation to individual students during a three-week period. Teacher sensitivity was observed in interaction with the target student in a cognitively challenging and an emotionally challenging task. Teachers’ higher but decreasing negative activating emotions were associated with higher levels of observed teacher sensitivity in the cognitively challenging task. In addition, heightened levels of negative deactivating emotions were associated with lower levels of observed teacher sensitivity but only in the emotionally challenging task.     

A Multisystem Psycho-Biological Approach to the Understanding of Parental Dispositions

SYNOPSIS

Does work-family conflict influence parental behaviors and parenting-related emotional states? Through an experimental research approach, River and colleagues showed that work-family conflict influences both emotions and parental behaviors, but the effect is moderated by the quality of the intimate relationship. In this commentary, we offer an interpretation of the results congruent with the recent theoretical approaches that stress the need for a multisystem psycho-biological approach to studying the factors that regulate parenting behaviors. In this perspective, we provide complementary explanations of the observed results and suggest possible future directions for research on these topics.     

The role of expressed emotions in online discussions

Abstract

We investigated relationships among expressed emotions, perceived motivation, perceived emotions, and three dependent variables (i.e., behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement, and student achievement) in the context of a blended online course. We defined “expressed emotions” as emotions detected by an affective computing tool in messages that students posted to online discussion forums in a blended undergraduate writing course. The results of two-step hierarchical multivariate regressions revealed that expressed emotions differentiated positive emotions from negative emotions better than perceived emotions did. Moreover, while no significant effect emerged for perceived motivation and perceived emotions, expressed fear was a significant predictor of student achievement (i.e., final score). Although affective computing is in its infancy, our findings suggest the potential use of expressed emotions for educational research and practice.     

Lessons From an Urban School Readiness Initiative: Including Family,Friend, and Neighbor Care Providers

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: Using a structured qualitative case study method, this study examined one urban school readiness initiative's efforts to identify and engage family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) care providers to promote school readiness in underserved and immigrant communities. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 23 FFN providers, 14 parent leaders, and 35 community partners in five urban neighborhoods. Results show that 1) a community-organizing approach was the primary method of engaging FFN providers, 2) FFN providers self-reported positive impacts of their engagement for both themselves and the children in their care, and 3) the inclusion of FFN providers elicited many strong feelings among partners about potential benefits and liabilities of supporting FFN care, which in some cases acted as a barrier to successful engagement of FFN providers. Practice and policy: Results highlight key strategies and potential benefits of engaging FFN providers in comprehensive school readiness systems. The tensions that arose regarding the engagement of FFN providers point to the importance of addressing misconceptions of FFN care and its value to children, families, and communities in order to ensure a shared commitment and understanding of the value and possible benefits of such a strategy.     

An Investigation into Staff and Pupils' Knowledge,Attitudes and Beliefs about Bullying in an Inner City School

In this article the writer explores the importance of and difficulty surrounding dialogue between students and teachers. This discussion is set within the wider context of a debate about the education of the emotions in our society and the argument is that this dialogue has a part to play in the education of the emotions. Thinking in the field of psychotherapy is drawn on as well as the writer’s experience as an educator, counsellor and trainer. She is currently working in higher education and concerned with teacher education and research. This background is relevant in that this experience is drawn on and it also shows up the focus of much of the work. This is concerned with personal, social and emotional development in education and with making this integral to education and organizations.     

Peace Process Pedagogy: lessons from the no-vote victory in the Colombian peace referendum

ABSTRACT

Is there a need for a new field within Peace Education that looks at the complex dynamics of transitional societies in the post-truth era? What formal and informal pedagogical strategies might be best suited for transforming ‘emotional anti-peace mindsets’? Drawing on practical examples from the complex political contingencies in Colombia, this article positions the concept of Peace Process Pedagogy within discussions in Critical Peace Education and Critical Contemplative Pedagogy. It encourages critical pedagogues to develop strategies to dismantle misinformation about peace policies, to engage in open conversations about emotions, and to work with embodied action.