"That's What's Making Everybody Cry": Examining Teacher Emotion and Subjectivity During a Pandemic

• In Event: Pandemic-Induced: COVID-19 Adaptations and the Implications for Teachers' Work

Abstract

This paper shares the results of a qualitative research study conducted during the 2020-2021 school year. In particular, this study investigated teachers’ emotional and identity tensions during the pandemic, with particular curiosity for reactions to the persistence of neoliberal discourses. We therefore situate this study within relevant literature and theory related to teacher emotion, identity, and power. Our analysis found connections between difficult emotions and the roles or values teachers espoused. These identity tensions can be understood as sites of resistance that emerged when the relational aspects of teaching were reduced, leaving primarily technical aspects. Teachers repeatedly described their feelings of fear, worry, guilt, sadness, and anger facilitated by resistance to notions of scarcity and productivity.

Authors

• Meghan A. Kessler, University of Illinois Springfield

• Alexis Jones, Eastern Illinois University