"I Cannot Express My Emotions in the Class": Emotion Suppression Among Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Female Teachers

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Abstract

The current study explored the process of emotion regulation among Ultra-Orthodox female teachers in Jewish educational system in Israel. Based on semi-structured interview with 13 Ultra-Orthodox female teachers in single-sex education for girls, it was found that the teachers preferred to suppress their positive and negative emotions rather than displaying them in their interactions with students, emphasizing the importance of self-restraint and self-control in their professional work and in their religious society. Their patterns of emotion regulation are tightly entwined within the culture of the Ultra-Orthodox society in which emotional distance is considered the proper way to behave in the public sphere.

Authors

• Izhar Oplatka, Tel Aviv University

• Riki Vertaimer, Tel Aviv University