Novice Teachers’ Emotional Regulation in the Micropolitics of a Chinese Middle School Teaching Research Group

• In Event: Roundtable Session 7
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Teacher Development and Professional Identity: Epistemological, Emotional, and Cultural Dimensions of Practice

Proposal

The Teaching Research Group (TRG) is the Chinese institutional form of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) which has its own characteristics and features. Situated in a cultural context of collectivism and power distance, and shaped by Confucian values of he (harmony) and respect for authority (Hofstede et al., 2010; Yin, 2013), TRGs foster collegiality and shared responsibility while discouraging overt conflict (Wong, 2010; Yin & Zheng, 2018), producing micropolitical tensions that shape how novice teachers experience and regulate emotions. International research on novice teachers has examined early career challenges, from classroom management to identity tensions, yet paid less attention to the organizational traditions and micropolitical power relations they must negotiate (Kelchtermans & Ballet, 2002a). Studies show that emotions are central to teachers’ work but historically neglected in favor of cognition (Yin, 2006). Recent scholarship emphasizes emotions as socially constructed and interactional, deeply tied to professional identity, relationships, and wellbeing (Hargreaves, 1998; Zembylas, 2007). Within this context, the emotional regulation of novice teachers within the micropolitical dynamics of TRGs remains underexplored.

This paper adopts a micropolitical lens to examine how novice teachers navigate these dynamics in their daily professional lives. The study explores: What emotional experiences do novice teachers have in their TRG interactions? How do novice teachers regulate their emotions in response? And what are the meanings or reasons behind novice teachers’ emotion regulation?

The study draws on semester-long ethnographic fieldwork in a Chinese middle school. Data include semi-structured interviews with 17 teachers (10 novices with five or fewer years of experience and 7 experienced), observations of TRG meetings, informal interactions, and school events, as well as extensive fieldnotes and memos. This design captures both the explicit narratives teachers share and the implicit, non-verbal interactions shaping their everyday experiences.

Findings reveal the complex ways novice teachers regulate emotions in the micropolitical context of Chinese schools. First, their emotional spectrum ranges from joy, gratitude, and relief when supported, to anxiety, loneliness, and frustration in moments of marginalization, and at times to deliberate displays of “no emotion,” which signal withdrawal or detachment. Second, the meanings of these emotions are deeply shaped by cultural values: supportive exchanges can ease negative feelings, but authority politics, generational divides, and norms of “distant civility” often intensify pressures. Finally, novice teachers employ diverse strategies of regulation. Silence and suppression are common, serving both as self-protection and subtle forms of resistance. Selective sharing with trusted colleagues allows limited emotional release without jeopardizing relationships. Humor provides a way to voice dissatisfaction indirectly, while direct confrontation, though rare, surfaces in moments of acute tension.

These findings highlight the hidden emotional costs of entering professional communities in China. They suggest that teachers’ work is not only pedagogical but also emotional and political, requiring constant negotiation of authority, harmony, and belonging. By foregrounding how emotions are regulated in collegial life, this study highlights the less visible struggles shaping novice teachers’ professional trajectories and opens space for rethinking how TRGs can support rather than constrain their development.

Author

• wenqian wu, Department of Education，East China Normal University