The Treatment of Teachers as Nonpersons as an Expression of Society's Excessively Entitled Attitude

• In Event: Consequential Research: Opening to Relational Dialogue in Pursuit of What Is Just and Therefore True

Abstract

Purpose: This presentation explores the ways that society in public discourse including action and response narrates teachers as nonpersons. This discourse mirrors society’s excessively entitled attitude that victimizes teachers affecting their identity and agency negatively. This study analyses the consequence of this excessive entitled attitude for education and teachers.
Perspective(s)
In 2015, Rice, Newberry, Whiting, Cutri, and Author2 explored their own experiences of nonpersonhood (NPHEs) in which their students and others in professional contexts treated them as nonpersons and the influence it had on their identity and experience. Recently during the Covid-19 pandemic, the authors also noted media reports (social and regular), parental comments, and other public interactions which led us to wonder how teachers and teacher educators were represented as nonpersons in public discourse and the impact that might have in a time of increasing teacher shortages, early retirement and teacher leaving.
Waller (1932/1970) defined NPHEs as events where teachers are represented as nonpersons. He argued that in schools the pressures to conform to norms results in representations of teachers as interchangeable (as things rather than humans). In this project we collected and analyzed narratives and examples where teachers and teacher educators were represented as nonpersons.
Methodology
We used qualitative research methods to explore this topic (Miles & Huberman, 1994). We individually collected stories from the regular media (newspapers, online reporting, etc), social media posts, and overheard conversations, or our own experiences where teachers or teacher educators were represented as nonpersons. We shared our accounts and included in analysis those we agreed represented NPHEs. We then worked together analyzing and identifying the representations and the techniques used in them.
Results and conclusions
Through our analysis we identified three representations of teachers as nonpersons: Caricatures, Sentimental representations, and Dereliction. In caricature narratives, teacher characteristics are exaggerated creating comic or grotesque images easily dismissed and disrespected. Sentimental representations are often hero stories where teachers sacrifice all for teaching and students. Dereliction narratives represent teachers as incompetent rather than children, parents, or administrators as derelict.
Our analysis identifies how teachers and teacher educators are positioned within society and the impact of such NPHEs on teachers and the teaching profession. Such depictions fail to represent the vital role of teachers in the progress of society. We recognize that one of the first moves in developing countries is attention to preparing strong educational systems but we see from our experience the ways in which this is less true in the U.S. where educators are treated as interchangeable and seen as deficit and the importance of education is minimized.
Scientific significance
The US and other countries face a drastic reduction in the teaching force and an unwillingness, even in the face of the pandemics impact, to provide the support teachers need to educate students to meet their potential. Identifying the ways in which teachers are treated as nonpersons enables countries and communities to create discourses that value teachers as humans.

Authors

• Eliza A. Pinnegar, Independant Researcher
  Presenting Author

• Stefinee E. Pinnegar, Brigham Young University
  Presenting Author