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Notes
on Selections From: Ball
S and Goodson
I (eds) (1985)
Teachers'
Lives and Careers,
Barcombe: The
Falmer Press
I have
summarised a number
of key chapters
from this very
interesting collection.
You can go
to each piece
by clicking the
book mark
(or hyperlink).
The chapters I
have summarised are
as follows:
Riseborough
(immediately below) (on how
pupils affect teachers);
Beynon ( on the tensions arising in a school
following an amlagamation). Both of these show the importance of
micropolitics. Sikes
(an
example of the
idea of life
cycles applied to
teachers),
and Measor
(on
the use of
the critical incidents
technique) pursue more
methodological lines, both using variants of life history techniques. This excellent
collection originally consisted
of papers given
at an educational conference,
and became a
'set book
' for the
legendary OU course
Educational Organisations
and Professionals
(E814).
Riseborough
G 'Pupils,
Teachers'
Careers and
Schooling: An Empirical
Study'
This
piece begins with
a plea that
we grasp the
'richness of
everyday life',
rather than operating
with an 'over
socialised objectivism'
or an 'over
individualised subjectivism'.
What we need
is a syncretic
rather than a
synthetic sociology of
schooling, one
which attempts to
couple together traditional
antinomies.
We can do
this by looking
at teachers'
careers, especially
by exploring the
moral implications.
Schools are often
seen as places
of class warfare,
operating on
pupils, but teachers
are processed by
schools too.
This helps us
explore the 'symbiotic'
relations between
the careers of
both teachers and
pupils: '"
teaching does something
to those who
teach", and
it is pupils
who do some of
the doing'.
(204 ).
The new
sociology of education
tended to overlook
teacher activity,
in favour of
a major focus
on educational failure.
The processes of
schooling were examined,
but the emphasis
still lay on
the definition of
problems held by
educators and professionals.
This led to
an over reliance
on tacit teacher
knowledge to define
the field,
and to a
commonsensical sociology,
still based on
an occupational ideology,
even where it
was critical of
teachers. Pupils'
own point of view
tended to be neglected:
pupils were seen
as reactors
rather than cultural
agents in their
own right Even
where analysis was
ostensibly centred on
the pupil,
pupil activities were
still seen as
deviant, as
a 'hidden
curriculum'
(205).
The other
major focus was
a more structuralist
one, based
on the theoretical
interests of marxism
and the persistence
of capitalism.
Schools offered only
the endless reproduction
of the system.
Although this view
was countered by
some writers,
such as Willis,
it tended to lead
to 'armchair
theorising'
which ignored the
complexities of real
life. Teachers
were seen as
automatons, and
this over socialised
you simply ignored
the 'iridescent
existential variations
in teacher and
pupil activity'
(207).
Pupils were also
stereotyped, operating
with a limited
form of subjectivity
'granted'
by the system.
However,
teachers were being
processed too,
by pupils as
well, in
a 'contested
terrain',
where the roles were
not so clearly
separated. Some
interactionist work grasped
this, but
tended to be
too pupil-centred .It
did recognise pupils
as culturally competent,
however.
The sociology
of the curriculum
tends to ignore
people activities in
favour of analysing
what is imposed,
from above.
Gramsci offers one
account of counter
hegemonic tendencies in
working-class common sense,
so that children
can be seen
as 'philosophers'
in their own right.
An example from
Riseborough's own
work shows how
pupils often passively
resist rather than
just neatly receiving
knowledge, and
another one shows
how the official
curriculum is 'ricochetted
and further converted
counter-culturally into
a differentiated
(Willis)
"counter curriculum"'
(211) [I am
not going to
include many examples of
Riseborough’s transcripts here
-- you must
go and see
for yourselves
if they really
do contain evidence
for such assertions].
Riseborough also
noticed lots of
children misbehaving: the
hidden curriculum ('the
supposedly subtle inculcation
of the dominant
values, training
in obedience and
docility')
is also 'ricochetted'
and differentiated:
In metalwork
we were putting
chuck keys in
the lathes, turning
it on a
and seeing if
we could get
them through the
ceiling. We
were making 50
pence coins for
the cig machines as
well...
I felt
really sorry for
the guy who
did human biology,
sex lessons...
It really was
awful... some
of the questions
people ask!
We knew more
than he did....
it was ace.
Doses and VD!
Can you get
it off toilet seats,
sir? Can
you get it
off door handles?
Only if you're
tall enough,
we told him.
(212)
...And
this great big
Deputy Head woman
was screaming at
[an 11
year-old on his
first day]
at top note...
And he looked
at her [a
female observer]
as she passed and
he winked at
her. He
winked at her!
It was all
washing over him.
He wasn't taking
a damn bit
of notice
(213)
In this
way, the
pupils were able
to dominate the
agenda of the
lesson, and
lessons became a
'site and
stake of class
struggle'
(214)
Pupils
as Moral 'Labourers'
Labelling theory
is too one-sided,
seeing teachers as
the labellers
or as moral entrepreneurs
-- but pupils,
correspondingly are moral
labourers, counter-labellers,
able to victimise
teachers. This
can lead to
new labelling,
and thus a
further spiral of
victimisation
[examples of
teachers being threatened,
by gestures and
words, are provided].
Sometimes, one
child can spark
off a deviancy
amplification spiral.
Labelling can take
place at both
the social and
psychological level,
but. the
victims need not
internalise the label.
Teacher labels often
arise from past
bitter experiences with
pupils. Pupils
can offer their
own solutions to
the problems of
order in class,
and direct their
own versions of
'symbolic violence',
or real violence, in response
to that directed
at them:
We had
to rescue
[a teacher]
a couple of
times. He
had a tough
time in the
playground. The
kids went up...
and they would
go right up
to him and take
his arms and
squeeze him,
and another would
walk on the
other side.
It ended up
with six or
so or crashing
into him,
or around him,
squeezing him.
And all the
other kids looking
on.
The
girls who had told
me about the
theft, they
got beat up
in the toilets...
Then one day...
I was just
arranging the kids
and just as
I was turning
around I saw
this kid swing
this base around
and just let
go of it.
Smashed straight across
my toes...
Once I started
accusing her of
doing it on
purpose or her
friends said,
"No she
didn't, she
just dropped it".
(222)
Teacher
Processors
The idea
of school as
a Ideological
State Apparatus is
countered by an
'Educational Counter-Ideological
Counter-State Apparatus,
a teacher mincer'
(223).
This can produce
serious personal crises
for teachers,
including nervous breakdowns.
Teachers can try
to cope by
‘withdrawing their knowledge’,
going through the
motions,.
and ignoring the chaos,
or by developing
a school phobia
of their own.
Teachers are often
'dramaturgically incompetent',
unable to protect a
'viable,
sacred self'
in the frequent classroom
degradation ceremonies
they endure
(227).
Many become disillusioned
and end their
careers, precisely
because of the
pupils, and
this affects young
teachers in particular
Teacher
Careers
This section
is developed from
Goffman's idea
of a 'moral
career'. Teachers typically
go through stages
in adapting to
teaching:
(a)
The 'plunger'
dives in with lots
of energy and
earnestness, and
this phase often
ends with exhaustion
(b)
The 'sinker'
is a failed teacher
who has to
try to cope.
This is especially
difficult if they
have been an
idealist, a
'high priest'.
Cynicism is often
best, as
a long extract
beginning on page 236
shows
(c)
The 'swimmer'
, learns to adjust,
sometimes after going
through the earlier
stages,,
and the occupational
culture often helps
to make new
teachers tougher and
more cynical
[becoming 'pachyderms' -- having the hide of an elephant],
so they can
adjust to reality,
and even find
some self-respect in
it. They may
adopt a stance of domination
or tactical withdrawal.
They aim at
institutional incorporation
rather than at
some ideological goal
and gained some
moral compensations in
coping with the 'dirty
work'
of teaching in tough
conditions. This is
the usual path to
becoming one of
those agents of
repression on behalf
of the State
double - it
is a matter
of 'lived
experience of a
wider societal contradiction
mediated on the
chalk face'
(245),
a negotiated solution,
although one still
riddled with contradictions
[really lengthy
extracts from transcripts
ensue].
Swimmers have to
undergo a number
of adjustments,
frequently becoming more
didactic,
getting the right
sort of language
for pupils, learning
how to motivate
and handle pupils,
developing classroom
techniques designed primarily
to manage pupils
rather than actually
achieving anything,
and learning how
to negotiate a
truce by turning
a blind eye
to some of
the school rules:
We have
developed ways of
approaching these kids.
It is the
easiest thing in
the world to
reach a massive
conflict situation,
very, very
easy and part
of the art
and the skill
is knowing how
and when to
avoid it.
You've got to
be on good
firm ground,
you’ve got to be
sure that you've
got them for
something they can
see is not
the right thing
to do...
You've got to
work within a
framework of justice
they recognise.
Don't mess around
with trivia…You
can so easily
get into a
lather...)
kids have a
level beyond which
they will not
go. If
you implement every
school rule you'd
run yourself ragged
and create an
awful lot of
hostility'. (251)
Pupils
as 'Double'
Career Gatekeepers
Pupils have
control over both
objective and subjective
elements of schooling
-- for example
the ability to
control pupils is
a criterion for
the recruitment,
promotion and deployment
of teachers,
including seeking promotion
as an escape
from classrooms.
Pupils act as
gatekeepers in a
double way,
both direct and
indirect.
[The direct
influence is when
pupils force teachers
to resign or
have nervous breakdowns,
but some examples
of indirect influences
are provided too,
for example in
the long extract
on page 251].
For example,
taking the 'dustbin
class'
is a common first
test for a
probationary teacher
[teachers had to
serve a probationary
year at the
time of writing].
Occasionally, teachers
find themselves forced
to use formal
methods on someone
else's class.
The staff often
collude among themselves
to exclude teachers
who cannot cope
or pass these
tests.
Linear
or Cyclical Careers?
Teachers need
not progress from
plunger to swimmer, but
can cycle around
these options.
The context offers
some important variables
--'With
each new class
or timetable the
teacher becomes a
plunger ...Some
teachers in certain
schools with certain
timetables can be
all three at
one and the
same time'
(258)
Even those who
can cope are
constantly afraid of
being undermined and
sinking again,
often following some
particular 'critical
incident'.
Conclusion
Schools are
class institutions where
order is achieved
through negotiation.
Reproduction theorists
miss this.
Bourdieu is especially
naive in terms
of his view
that schools impose
or hand
on an aristocratic
culture: on
the contrary,
schools are places for a
'bottom-up' counter cultural definition: schools usually actually
fail to break
working-class culture
(261).
There are links
to the parent
culture here.
Teachers are frequently
'warrened by pupils
from without'.
Pupil resistance
is particularly effective
in denying the
moral status of
teaching, and
this has considerable
effects on teachers'
moral careers.
The reactions of
pupils have clear
effects on teachers'
imagery of themselves
as people who
can cope:
in this way,
they affect or
process teachers'
careers. This
has the paradoxical
result of mincing
teaches, including
those who could
actually help --
the school therefore
becomes a reproducing
and pupil-mincing institution after all.
It is difficult
to see how
radicals might intervene
to prevent this
consequence. Liberals
have trouble hanging on to their beliefs, and marxists have yet to learn
how to encourage emancipation, and unwanted deconstruction --how can we
non-oppressively emancipate -- 'How can pupils be humanely prevented
from socially constructing the kinds of teachers they
"deserve"?' ( 263)
Beynon J
'Institutional Change
and Career Histories
in a Comprehensive
School
The experience
of teaching needs
to be understood,
instead of formal
analyses of roles.
Conflict and micropolitics
especially tend to be
ignored. The
life history method,
and ethnography,
can show the
interweaving between
the personal and
the organisational.
The initial purpose
of this study
was to examine
initial encounters with
pupils, but
the study rapidly
lead to a
recognition of both
biological and historical
factors, and
the effects of
into staff relationships,
including notions of
career progression,
and informal
hierarchies. Staff
biographies were an
important resource.
The impact
of changes towards
becoming comprehensive
[after a
merger between a
grammar and several secondary
modern schools]
were noticeable. There
were those who
had formerly taught
in a grammar
school who brought
an initial superior
status. Those
teaching in the
old secondary modern
school tended to
stress their superior
expertise in classroom
practice, but
tended to feel
disgruntled, and
soon developed a
number of coping
strategies:
(a)
they developed other
careers, outside
the school
(b)
they advocated mixed-ability
teaching, which
would enable them
to break out
of their traditional
association with the
less able pupils
(c)
they developed covert
curricular innovation,
using their traditional
classroom freedom,
in a spirit
of 'putting
one over'.
(d)
they claim superior
expertise in pedagogy
and in discipline,
rather than an
exam successes,
for example taking
pride in their
low truancy rates
(e)
they developed their
own home base where
they could exert
their authority,
especially in amplifying
'teacher normality
and deviancy'
(161).
Staff rooms became
polarised too
(f)
they were able
to recruit staff
to their faction,
and socialised newcomers
into their ways
The
split in status
between those teaching
in secondary moderns
and in grammar
schools has been
stressed in other research
it is not
always the case
that grammar-school teachers
are dominance,
and sometimes the
better teachers are
given the greatest
opportunities. A
process of reaction
formation
[a reference
to some classic
work in juvenile
delinquency here]
can lead to
the formation of
cliques and to
opposition to new
headteachers as aspirations
remain unsatisfied.
[The
conflicts often take
the familiar but
coded form of
arguments about the
relative merits of
'theory'
and 'practice':
We're teachers,
not theorists or
academics -- that's
the difference.
Up there a
lot of them
sound good outside
the classroom,
but inside they’re
a dead loss.
The kids treat
them as doormats,
yet they can
write a book
when it came
to theory
(161)]
The life
history method had
its origins in
Chicago in the
1920s and
1930s. It has
been revived recently
partly to meet
the criticisms of
ethnography on the
need to account
for context.
It can help
discover the links
between personal and
work experiences,
and the effects
of previous careers.
We know that
the lives teachers
have outside school
can 'strongly
influence
(even determine)
activities and reputations
[inside school]' (164).
Life
history data has:
(a)
a subjective function,
illustrating the subjective
reality and consequences
of occupational interactions,
especially critical interactions.
Such data brings
out the 'turning
points, confusions,
ironies and contradictions'
(164)
(b)
a contextual function
showing the importance
of the personal
and socio-economic
factors, and of historical
continuity. Life
history shows how
these contexts are
linked through choices
for the individual,
who come to
terms of organisational
changes
(c)
an evaluative function,
demonstrating the importance
of looking at
the subjective experience,
rather than a
conceptual analysis,
of changes such as
going comprehensive.
This can lead
to later hypotheses
too.
The
‘critical incidents’
technique is used
for, illustrating
key turning-points and
so on.
Generally life histories
indicate that going
comprehensive was a
crucial watershed for
the participants,
involving a continuous
re-evaluation of their
present position.
In this way,
they show how
past events can
affect present action,
even if these
were unknown to ethnographers.
The 'personal
domain'
is still influential:
the remembered past
of teachers can
clearly affect their
current conceptions [rationalisations?],
even the effect
of chance events,
or childhood memories.
One case study
illustrates this.
'Mr Pickwick'
was embittered and
frustrated. His
main interest was
in his parallel
career, and
he said he
was teaching only
to earn a
salary: he
had moved 'from
teacher enthusiast to
cynical time server'
(177).
He attributed his
failure to be
promoted to an
academic dispute about
the nature of
history which had
been interpreted as
a challenge to
the head teacher.
He was still
locked in acrimonious
conflict with the
deputy head.
He developed a
very sparse coping
strategy, based
on the copious
use of handouts
to avoid actual contact as often as possible.
Turning
to the 'institutional
domain'
the amalgamation, 12
years before this
research was still
a live issue
and underpinned much
of the politics
of the staffroom,
and many of
the seemingly irrelevant
disputes and debates,
about pedagogy or
about the way
subjects were taught
[there are
some marvellous case
studies here].
Newcomers were recognised
as a threat.
Even promotion led
to anxiety,
since people felt
'on trial'.
There were high levels
of personal distrust
and intolerance.
People took up
camps in different
areas of teacher
politics, and
talked about classroom
practice, and
the preservation of
the old traditions.
There were many
'clashes of
personality'
sometimes leading to
personal contests in
classrooms
[teachers intervening
in drama lessons
to quieten classes,
for example,
leading to comments
such as:
'All the women,
with the possible
exception of Mrs
Calm, ought
to be sacked
for their failure
to control their
classes'.
The response from the
(female) drama teacher
was that:'...the
kids had a
great time and
really did some
good work...
but they [her
colleagues] were all in
the staffroom saying
that they wished
they could get
out into the
sun, but
they had [proper] work
to do...
and it was
OK if you're
just entertaining kids
rather than educating
them... There's
no way in
which drama in
this school is
ever going to
be seen as
more than just
a lark'
(175)]
In this atmosphere,
minor deviations were
seen as threats
to the whole
moral order
The piece
ends with a
plea to study
the subjective aspects
of teacher commitment,
and micropolitics.
The importance of
contexts and responses
to them need
to be thought
out again,
as explanations for
things like the
loss of enthusiasm.
Substantively, the
study suggests that
the impact of
going comprehensive had
very important subjective
effects, often
divisive ones.
Sikes
P 'The Life
Cycle of the
Teacher'
This
is a study
of a small
group of teachers
(48 in
all, with a
preponderance of females)
which attempts to
show the links
between ageing or
occupational development
and identity.
Status is related
to age and
so are hopes and
expectations. There
are links between
this process,
the personality of
the teacher and
the social system.
Teachers are unique,
though, because
they work with
children and experience
and increasing distance
from their own
generation: this
leads to a
shift in the
form of relationship
with the pupils,
which develops from
older sibling to
parent. Relations
with younger colleagues
similarly alter.
There is a
loose fit between
the data here
and the model
provided in Levinson
et al (1979).
[NB Examples from
the ethnographic data are
used throughout --
I have hardly
included them here].
Phase one
(ages 18
to 21).
Here the teachers
enter the adult
world with open
possibilities of exploring
a number of
options, including
other careers.
There is concern
to cope and
learn the job.
A particular concern
is the maintenance
of discipline,
especially when dealing
with large children:
young teachers lacked
the authority of
age and do
not attract traditional
respect from the
pupils. The
usual advice is
to start tough
and then ease
up. Teachers
tend to blame
themselves if they
are unable to
cope, often
blaming their own
'personality',
or ‘nature’. They
experience a range
of critical incidents,
often relating to
their authority and
therefore their identity.
There may be
gender differences here.
If they
survive this phase,
there are fewer
difficulties subsequently,
and the issue
of discipline diminishes
for them.
Even the size
of some of
the larger kids
is less frightening
as you take
the group through
the system.
They also learn
that the older
teachers are not
so good either,
and undergo a
classic 'status
passage'
as the mystique
is dispelled.
In terms
of their subject,
an early personal
interest and commitment
to it leads
to some security
and an identity
as an expert,
which can connect
to disciplinary problems,
for example whether
there is mixed-subject
teaching. This
offers a particular
attention for those
entering through the
BA plus PGCE route.
Pedagogical problems become
dominant, and
any teacher training
is seen as
of limited value
(36).
Problems often encountered,
especially if teachers
try positive or
supportive approaches.
A process of
occupational socialisation
helps teachers try
things they have
never done before.
New techniques can
be school specific,
or general --
for example,
young teachers learn
to avoid talk
of problems in
staff rooms,
and to see any such talk not as genuine requests
for advice,
but as anecdotes,
as entertainment,
as solidaristic.
Asking for help
is rare,
and this leads
to isolation and
depression. Sometimes
new teachers form
self-help groups,
in contrast to
the old ones,
and form a
'moaners'
group'.
This acts as
a safety valve,
but also helps
the transition from
idealism. School
colleagues can offer
a source of
social life as
well, and
there can even
be similar interests
with pupils,
if teachers are
close to their
age: this
can help with
good relationships with
pupils, as
a compensation for
the lack of
authority.
For there
to be good
social relationships with
colleagues, much
depends on other
variables too,
including social class,
which can produce
a need for,
or the inevitability
of, social distance
from pupils.
There are school
specific patterns here
as well.
Social class differences
are can be
overcome by sport
or marriage but
there are often
special problems for
young male teachers.
Popular women have
their own problems,
including facing sexual
innuendoes, sometimes
in their lessons.
Extra-curricular activities
can also be
pursued for careerist
reasons, and
could be a
route to promotion
[in the
1960s and 1970s,
not so much
today].
Phase
two (ages
28-33)
Here, life
becomes more serious
as commitments and
responsibilities increase,
and there is
a need for
more stability and
a life plan.
There are gender
differences here,
since for women,
the age 30
is a kind
of watershed,
leading to pressures
to decide about
parenthood. The
state of the
job market is
also important,
affecting the chances
of returning from
maternity. As
experience grows,
teachers expect change
or promotion,
and if this
is lacking,
there is a
fear of being
overlooked. Teachers
can become cynics
or grumblers, members
of an anti-school clique.
Money becomes more
important as family
commitments grow and
as a compensation.
Teachers lose touch
with youth culture,
and find more
pupil rejection.
Pastoral jobs become
more appropriate.
It is possible
to find new
relationships with the
young, out of
school, but
this often leads
to disappointment.
Teachers in this
phase feel relaxed
in classrooms,
able to trust
their own ideas
and to rework
their styles.
They typically experience
a shift in
interest to the
curriculum or to
pedagogy, rather
than their subject,
where knowledge is
sometimes seen as
'out of
date'.
Phase three
(pages 30-40)
This is a
phase of settling
down, where
teachers are at
their peak.
Women may be
expected to focus
on their families
rather than establish
themselves in careers,
although men are
expected to be
careerists even at
the expense of
their social life.
Some teachers burn-out.
Some become interested
in management as
a route out
of classrooms.
Those who remain
in classrooms often
profess a deep
interest in teaching,
but as an
excuse or coping
strategy. There
are high levels
of personal and
financial commitments,
and this can
lead to changes
in perspective on
one's career --
for example,
it can be
seen as inherently interesting
even if not
particularly rewarding
(49).
Teachers may join
an anti-school clique,
or develop an
interest in careers
outside the school,
or in their
families. They
feel under threat
from talented newcomers.
Teachers are now
so far apart from
pupils, in
terms of age,
that they compare
them unfavourably with
their own generation,
often taking on
more judgemental
and authoritarian roles,
although female returners
can appear as
'mums'.
Indeed, all teachers
with children of
their own tend
to shift to
a parental role.
Male teachers are
no longer so
attractive, which
is a blow
to the ego,
also much safer
(51).
Phase four
(ages 40
to 50/55)
The successful ones
are out of classrooms
by now.
Male prospects of
promotion are worse
after the age
of 40,
although women's prospects
are better since
they can take
pastoral posts.
Generally, there
is a plateau
in career terms,
and the need
to accommodate.
This can be
as traumatic as
adolescence, involving
a need for
self reappraisal and
acceptance of their
own mortality.
It is possible
to be a
grand parent to
pupils, and
a parent to
younger teachers. Older
teachers become authority
figures, including
representatives of tradition,
and as dependable
'backbones'.
This can lead to
high morale again,
as ability to
cope rises and
ambition declines
(53).
Some teachers in
this phase stagnate
and become anti-school.
Phase five
(ages 50-55
plus)
This involves
preparation for retirement.
Energy and enthusiasm
decline, teachers
become time-servers.
One result can
be a new
relaxation and enthusiasm
for teaching as
one finally become
'mature'
and 'realistic'.
Teachers in this phase
feel old,
and are also
two well known.
They have problems
relating to pupils
and younger teachers
especially if they
are in authority
over them.
They are able
define some satisfaction
in vicarious success
of their pupils,
and in enjoying
a local status
in their town.
Conclusions
Teachers are
human, and
so are 'subject
to biological and
psychological changes'
(57)
[ as important as social and political factors?]
that alter their perceptions and
experiences. This
study looked only
at teachers of
art and science,
but there are
clearly other possibilities,
such as those
for physical education
teachers [who are particularly susceptible to
the effects of ageing on their authority etc]. Sciences
go out of
date, art
teachers tend to
lose energy and
enthusiasm, and
their marginal status
does not help.
Thus specific as well
as common if
not universal personal
developments are associated
with the ageing
process.
Measor L
'Critical Incidents
in the Classroom:
Identities, Choices
and Careers'
This
is a study
of the life
histories of
teachers (48
in all).
Critical incidents are
defined as 'key
events... around
which pivotal decisions
revolve'.
The idea was to
search in teachers'
biographies for
these, and
then see if
generalisations were possible.
The first
stages to identify
critical phases in
a teacher's
career. These
might be extrinsic
(the effects of
the War,
or of policy
changes),
or intrinsic
(such as
the first teaching
practice).
Phases could be
divided into entry,
first teaching practice,
18 months after
the first job,
three years after
the first job,
mid-career, and
pre-retirement
(there are
clear links with
notions of the
life cycle here).
There can also
be personal phases
-- leaving parents,
getting married,
becoming a parent
themselves. Critical
incidents occur within
these phases,
and seemed particularly
important in the
first 18 months.
Life histories
were recorded for
secondary teachers in
art and science.
There were three
groups in all,
all living in
the same town,
and all known
to each other
(this permitted
a certain amount
of cross checking
of the different
stories).
One group was retired,
one mid-career,
and one younger.
In the first
a team once,
people reported difficulties
with discipline and
exhaustion. Male
pupils were a
special problem.
They felt often
under pressure from
older staff to
show a heavy
hand [which
could include physical
violence and corporal
punishment in those
days]. A
typical critical incident
often involved a
confrontation with a
pupil: if
the difficulties were
surmounted, teachers
often gained a
long-lived reputation.
There were
common patterns and
different responses
[some long
examples are given
pages 64-66.
Briefly, some
teachers seem to
have enjoyed giving
the details of
the critical incident,
others still felt
distressed, some
teachers change their
teaching style,
others developed new
tactics]. Some respondents
found that 'real
anger in the
classroom is genuinely
counter productive,
and that teachers
need to
"stage-manage"
a "front"
of anger if
they are to
cope as "proper
teachers" '
(page 66).
Teachers lose face
if they cannot
cope with pupil
trouble. They
often reflect on
their own style
afterwards, for
example to distinguish
themselves from their seniors,
as well as
to undergo some
form of negotiation
Critical incidents can
be combined with
'counter incidents',
which helped to justify
themselves: counter incidents
showed teachers coping.
Teachers describe how
they managed to
remove an unruly
child from the
class (69),
or manage a
class with gentleness
(70).
In telling the
stories [perhaps
dramatising them?],
teachers apparently feel
a need to
'balance'
their own accounts
[ 'balance' is an important teacher virtue] (72).
Retelling the critical
incidents also seemed
to spark off
other memories and
ideas.
Critical incidents
act as symbols
for teachers'
'values,
attitudes and roles'.
They seem to
have a role
rather like some
of the adolescent
myths of the
pupils they teach
[which Measor
has also researched].
In both cases,
participants find it
difficult to talk
about their identities
directly, so
they need these
symbolic coded approaches.
Claims about the
self are being
made, 'signals'
about acceptable role
models and identities,
as well as the
choices that teachers
have made during
their careers.
[This is
why Measor is
not particularly concerned
about the accuracy
or veracity of
these stories,
perhaps?
The point is
to show how
'identities are
built for individuals
at particular points
in their life
cycle... the
individual chooses "a
way" and
by so doing
makes a self'
(75)].
Gender differences
are important.
Female teachers reported
critical incidents concerning
violence with male
pupils, and
tended to face
different sorts of
bad behaviour,
as indicated by
reports of sexual harassment.
In one incident:
The
teacher entered the
classroom to find
that each of
her male pupils
had displayed their
genitals on the
desk in front
of them.
She told the
pupils to put
them away and
then frogmarched one
of the boys
out of the
classroom. Her
classroom was on
a first-floor balcony
and somehow the
woman teacher pushed
the boy in
such a way
that he fell
over the balcony
and onto the
floor some distance
below. A
now carefully buttoned
up group of
boys watched his
fall in a
hushed and respectful
silence. The
woman had no
further discipline problems.
This particular
recollection is described
by Measor as 'perhaps
particularly colourful...' (63).
Other examples are
less dramatic,
even if they
might seem strange
to modern readers
-- one female teacher
was chased around
the art room
with a bunch
of mistletoe
(73-4).
Social class
and the location of
the school produced social differences
too, and there
were some other
anomalies -- one
teacher had a
story circulated about
him that he
had been a Commando
during the war,
and he was
able to intimidate
the boys
without having to
hit them!
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