Emotional Labor as Teaching Expertise: Reflective Practices for Teacher Professional Development Workshops

• In Event: Beyond Survival: Supporting Preservice and Early Career Teachers to Thrive in the Profession

Abstract

Teacher professional development does not often explicitly address emotional demands in teaching, yet emotional labor is a key component of teaching expertise. We designed and delivered (7 times) a research-based professional development workshop for pre-service teachers centered on emotional regulation and emotional labor. We asked what reflective practices aided teachers in meeting the emotional demands of their jobs. Drawing on analytic memos and participant survey responses, we found that teacher education opportunities centered on emotions allow preservice teachers to name and reflect on affective demands they experience in their daily work, particularly during times of strain in their personal lives, as well as ways that their personal identities interplay with their teaching.

Authors

• Mandie Bevels Dunn, University of South Florida - Tampa

• Kristabel Stark, University of Vermont

• Dulcey Hunter, University of South Florida - Tampa