Teacher emotions and the interpersonal dimension in the classroom: teachers interpersonal role

identities, appraisal of classroom situations and teacher-student relationships

Perry den Brok1, Anna van der Want1 , Douwe Beijaard1 & Theo Wubbels2
1
2

Eindhoven School of Education (ESoE), Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands

Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, the Netherlands

Abstract
In this chapter, a model to understand teachers emotions and behaviors in the classroom in relation to
their professional identity will be presented and illustrated with empirical data. In the model it is argued
that two types of teacher emotions, in this case associated with the domain of teacher-student
interpersonal relationships, can emerge. One type of emotions are the result of teachers interpretations
of and coping with specific classroom events, whereby their emotions are part of the appraisal process of
situations, that are evaluated in the light of their interpersonal role identity standards. The second type
of emotions emerge as a result of tensions or dilemmas that appear within or between different
interpersonal role identity standards and are often based on series of classroom situations and events. It
is argued that the model is helpful for both researchers and practitioners to better understand, recognize
and support beginning (and experienced) teachers with emotions that occur in the classroom, and to
help stimulate both their personal as well as professional development. [169 words]
Keywords
Teacher-student interpersonal relationships, professional role identity, appraisals, identity standards,
identity tensions
[7438 words]
1. Introduction
Feelings and emotions are an inherent part of teaching (Hargreaves, 2005; Kelchtermans, 2005;
Olsen, 2010) and research has shown that one of the major sources of positive as well as negative
teacher emotions in the classroom are teacher-student interpersonal relationships (Lewis, 1999). For
example, the VITAE-project, a large scale UK project on teachers biography in relation to their teaching
effectiveness, has shown that in all phases of the teaching career positive relationships with students are
central to teachers self-efficacy, ability to teach well and professional identity (Day, Stobart, Sammons,
Kingston, Gu, Smees, Mujtaba, & Woods, 2006). Problematic teacher-student relationships, on the other
hand, seem to be an important reason for teacher attrition early in the career (MacDonald, 1999;
Ingersoll & Smith, 2003), and an important factor for teacher stress and burnout later in the career (Tatar
& Horenczyk, 2003). Many beginning and veteran teachers experience problems in the domain of
interpersonal relationships and classroom management (Veenman, 1984; Weinstein & Evertson, 2006).In
this respect, teacher interpersonal competence is an important factor in creating and maintaining
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positive relationships with students and enhancing the quality of the teaching career (Wubbels,
Brekelmans, den Brok, & van Tartwijk, 2006).
In the context of this book on teacher emotions, this contribution, therefore, will focus on
teacher emotions in relation to the interpersonal dimension of teaching and the teachers professional
identity in the interpersonal domain, further referred to as interpersonal role identity. Using an
interpersonal perspective on teaching means studying teacher competence from the perspective of the
relationship teachers establish with their students (e.g. Wubbels & Levy, 1993). This perspective can be
distinguished from other perspectives to study teaching, such as a learning-activities - what learning
activities does the teacher involve the student in? - or content perspective what is the content taught?
- (Brekelmans, Sleegers, & Fraser, 2000; den Brok, 2001; Wubbels et al., 2006). In the interpersonal
perspective, we describe teacher-student relationships in terms of two dimensions: Control (DominantSubmissive) and Affiliation (CooperationOpposition). Control refers to the degree to which the teacher
determines what happens in the communication with the students and is on the one end of the
dimension characterized by teacher dominance (the teacher is in control) and on the other by
submissiveness (the teacher is not but the students are in control); affiliation refers to the emotional
closeness between teacher and students or the degree to which the teacher and the students are in
harmony versus conflict; on the one end the dimension is characterized by cooperation, while at the
other end by conflict and opposition towards each other.
As argued above, teacher-student relationships require much attention from teachers in the
classroom, and are an important source of their concerns and happiness. Hence, teacher-student
relationships are an important source for teacher emotions, both inside and outside the classroom. This
study takes a unique perspective by describing and analysing teacher emotions in connection to teacherstudent relationships through a professional identity lens. The concept of professional identity here
refers to questions that teachers may ask themselves, like who am I as a teacher? and what kind of
teacher do I want to become? (Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004; Korthagen & Vasalos, 2005). In the
present study, professional identity development is seen as the process of integrating ones personal
knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, norms and values, on the one hand, and professional demands from
teacher education institutes and schools, including broadly accepted values and standards about
teaching, on the other (Beijaard et al., 2004). Developing ones professional identity, then, involves
finding a balance between the personal and professional side of becoming and being a teacher (Alsup
2006; Lipka & Brinthaupt 1999; Olsen 2010; Volkmann & Anderson 1998). Nias (1996) argues that the
emotional reactions of teachers to their work are connected to the views that they have of themselves
and others.
We assume a reciprocal relation between teachers actions and identity. A teachers identity, in
this case the identity related to the interpersonal domain, acts as a filter through which teachers
perceive and respond in particular classroom situations. This reaction includes both a perceptional
process as well as an emotional and cognitive or behavioral response. At the same time, these situations
and teachers reactions to them affect their interpersonal role identities, evoking a circular process of
evolving teaching actions and identity development. In this contribution we will propose a model that
describes this process and illustrate the model with data from some of our previous studies. We think
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that analyzing teacher emotions and behavior in the classroom through a professional identity lens to is
productive, as it will help to understand how emotions emerge, and how they affect decisions and
actions in the classroom and in a teachers career. Such an approach may be beneficial for helping
teachers developing a strong interpersonal identity role, which has been proven to be important for
teachers feeling of wellbeing, teacher attrition and student outcomes. Teachers with a healthy teacherstudent relationship are better able to teach effectively and motivate their students (Cornelius-White,
2007) and less likely to leave the profession either voluntarily or for health reasons (Day et al., 2006).
2. Interpersonal role identity and teacher emotions in the classroom
Following Burke and Stets (2009), we perceive people as having multiple identities in their lives,
in the personal sphere (e.g. mother, spouse, friend) as well as in the professional sphere (e.g. a teacher
being a subject matter specialist, a coach, a personal guide, an interpersonal or a pedagogical expert)
and in the contextual sphere (e.g. an English speaking person, an African American belonging to or being
related to/ feeling connected to/being a member of a certain culture, ethnicity, language, religion, etc.).
For each identity, a person enacts a certain role, an identity role. An identity role is the internalized set
of meanings related to a particular part of their lives (e.g. a job, position within society or family) that
individuals apply to themselves (Burke & Stets, 2009). In this chapter, we will focus on the interpersonal
role identity. We will describe the meanings that teachers give to specific interpersonal situations and
how teachers relate these meanings to their own interpersonal frame of reference, their so-called
interpersonal identity standard (Burke & Stets 2009).
Teacher professional identity research shows that teacher-student interpersonal relationships are an
important element of their identities as teachers. In his study on secondary school teachers professional
identity, Beijaard (1995) investigated 14 themes that shape professional identity. Apart from more
general themes such as the subject taught, the interpersonal relationship between teacher and students
emerged as being very important in teachers perceptions of their professional identity; this aspect could
be linked to at least eight themes: bonding with students, preferences for (specific) students, respect for
and by students, interacting with students, keeping distance to students, affective neutrality and
commitment to helping students. Thus, the teacher-student interpersonal relationship comprises an
important component of the professional identity of a teacher. This is particularly true in the first phase
of the career, where teachers face many dilemmas and problems that pertain to developing a good
relationship with students (Volkmann, & Anderson, 1998).
We argue that the interpersonal identity standards of teachers are connected to their emotions
in various ways (see Figure 1). Teachers interpersonal identity standards on the one hand shape their
perceptions of a situation, the meaning they attach to this situation and the manner in which they
appraise the situation and respond in it. The appraisal process, in which teachers give meaning to the
situation, consists of an emotional response (first appraisal), and a coping strategy (second appraisal)
(Arnold 1960; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). This process is started by a comparison between the identity
standards of the situation with the actual situation. Teachers try to reconcile both, but depending on the
degree of match or mismatch, different emotional responses and coping processes may evolve. In this
process, emotions are thus a direct result of the perception and experience of a classroom situation in
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relation to the identity standards of a teacher. Emotions can also emerge at a deeper level, as a result of
series of situations: because teachers encounter situations or experience that different factors or
sources demand different things from them (perceptions by others, role of the school or teacher
education institute), their identity standards might be challenged, or different identity standards might
emerge that may conflict with each other. It might also be that different standards, either related to one
particular identity role or to different identity roles, compete with each other in the identity hierarchy
(cf. Burke & Stets, 2009). When this occurs, tensions in teachers identities might occur, even
experienced as dilemmas (Pillen, Beijaard, & den Brok, in press), or teachers might struggle to determine
which standards are most important. Such tensions, dilemmas and struggles also evoke emotions, which
somehow have to be overcome, either within or outside the classroom.

Figure 1 Interpersonal identity standards and emotions

In the model, the interpersonal identity role is the internalized set of meanings related to
teacher-student relationships in the classrooms that teachers apply to themselves. The meanings that
teachers apply are continuously constructed in meaning making processes. These meaning making
processes can be considered as the process in which teachers compare a perceived situation with their
self-relevant meanings or ideas they hold internally: their identity standard. For example, when at the
start of the lesson the students enter the classroom talking loudly to each other, the teacher can make
sense of this situation in different ways, s/he can think that it is important for students to let them settle
down and have a minute to talk informally to their peers, or s/he can think that it is very important to
use all the time there is to teach the subject to the students and that therefore everybody should be
4

quiet and be ready instantly to start with the lesson, etc. Depending on his or her identity standard, a
teacher will attach different meanings to a situation and will consequently also behave differently.
In their model, Burke and Stets (Burke & Stets, 2009, pp. 27-28) argue that perception is guiding the
behavior of the person. By controlling their perceptions people try ...to make their perceptions match a
reference of set point, their identity standards (Burke and Stets, 2009, p. 29). Applied to the focus of
this chapter, the perception of an interpersonal situation (e.g. students are yelling at each other during
the lesson) compared to the identity standard of a teacher (e.g. students should be quiet during the
lesson), is crucial for a teachers interpersonal identity role. In the next sections of this contribution, we
will discuss and illustrate the different elements of our model more in detail.
3. Interpersonal identity standards
Although someones identity role is continuously under (re)construction, there are certain
components of a persons identity role that function as a frame of reference (Burke and Stets, 2009, p.
63). The self-relevant meanings or ideas a teacher internally has, function as his/her identity standards.
The identity standard functions as a point of reference and consists of the set of meanings that define
the character of the identity (Burke & Stets 2009, pp. 32 and 63). Identity standards can be held about
oneself (e.g. as a teacher, I should remain a clear professional distance to students) or about other
people as well (students should always respect the teacher and comply with his/her requests). In
general, we can define an identity standard of a teacher as the set meanings and ideas of a teacher
about him/herself and relevant others that serve as a framework or a point of reference for a teacher. In
addition, a teachers identity standard represents what the self-relevant meanings in the situation should
be (Burke & Stets 2009, p. 3).
Teachers' images of themselves as teachers, especially when it comes to beginning teachers,
often conflict with the reality of what makes a professional teacher and with the images and
expectations that others (such as parents, students, colleagues or school management) have of them
(Volkmann & Anderson, 1998). Research findings on (student) teacher ideals, their self-perceptions and
their students perceptions of them (Brekelmans, Wubbels, & van Tartwijk, 2005) confirm this: beginning
teachers are perceived much lower by their students in terms of interpersonal Control than they would
like to be (according to their ideal perceptions). Significant differences in perceptions have also been
found between teachers self-perceptions and their students perceptions and these differences seem to
extend to teaching behaviours such as teaching for active learning and clarity (den Brok, Bergen &
Brekelmans, 2006). Moreover, differences between students and teachers perceptions remain during
the teaching career; they are particularly large during the beginning teaching period, which appears to
be a major source of disappointment for many beginning teachers, thus hindering their learning
(Wubbels et al., 2006). On the one hand, beginning teachers would like to be perceived as tough, but at
the same time are seen as submissive (by their students). On the other hand, they hardly differ with their
students when it comes to Affiliation (Brekelmans et al., 2004; Wubbels et al., 2006).
These findings might be explained by, for example, knowledge and expectations regarding
leadership roles, but also by identification processes with adults as well as with students. From an
interpersonal perspective it seems that many beginning and student teachers confuse teacher leadership
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with teacher strictness, whereas many experienced teachers show leadership to be dominant, rather
than strictness (Holvast, Wubbels, & Brekelmans, 1993; de Jong, Verloop, van Tartwijk, Veldman, &
Wubbels, submitted). It might be possible that according to beginning teachers, both interpersonal
dimensions of Control and Affiliation are linked, while in the view of experienced teachers (and theory),
these are independent.
A recent study on teachers interpersonal identity standards in relation to appraisals of lesson
situations (van der Want, den Brok, Beijaard, Brekelmans, Claessens, & Pennings, submitted), asked both
beginning and experienced teachers (30 in total) to describe themselves as teachers from an
interpersonal perspective and to indicate what they find important in their relationships with students.
Most of the 30 teachers characterized their standards by describing their (desired) relationship with
students as open and friendly, whereby students feel free to ask questions and approach them with
problems. In addition, beginning teachers described their (desired) relationship as friendly, but not too
friendly, I am still their teacher, and a fight/struggle was also mentioned by quite some beginning
teachers. Their reported standards thus confirmed findings from other studies, such as those found by
Holvast et al. (1993) and de Jong et al. (submitted), indicating that especially beginning teachers are still
in the process of establishing standards that pick up suitable distinctions between elements such as
strictness, leadership and helpful/friendliness.
4. Teachers appraisals of classroom situations
In our model, it is assumed that professional identity will act as a filter through which a teacher
perceives his/her interpersonal behaviour in specific situations, interprets and values this behaviour. In
turn, teachers appraisals of their behaviour in specific situations will further shape and modify (the
interpersonal component of) their identity, as they become part of their knowledge and experiences.
Some research about teachers meaning making processes of specific situations has been conducted by
Admiraal (1994; cf. Admiraal, Korthagen, & Wubbels, 2000). Admiraal investigated the concept of
student teachers meaning making in demanding classroom situations for which he used the concept of
appraisal (cf. ref. Arnold 1960; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
Appraisals play an important role in the comparison process between the perception of the
situation and the interpersonal identity standards. In an ideal situation for a teacher, total identityverification takes place. Identity-verification means that perceptions of the person in the situation are
consistent with the persons identity-standard. A lack of identity-verification occurs when the
perceptions about the person in the situation disconfirm the persons identity-standard meanings
(Burke & Stets 2009, p. 116). If there is a (total) lack of identity-verification, people become upset or
distressed in varying degrees. (Burke & Stets, 2009, p. 208). According to Burke and Stets, people will try
to change this mismatch of situational meanings and identity standard into a matching couple (Burke &
Stets 2009, p. 108). At the same time, both verification and lack of verification thus lead to different
interpretations and appraisals of a situation.
The concept of appraisal can be understood as the process of categorizing a situation, with
respect to its importance and effect for a teachers well-being (Arnold, 1960; Lazarus & Folkman 1984;
Admiraal 1994; Admiraal et al., 2000). Consciously or unconsciously, appraisal processes take place
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continuously: every situation is categorized by individuals (Am I in trouble? Is this harmful for my
wellbeing? What should I do now?) and evaluated (e.g. this is life threatening, I need to fly). Several
appraisal categories to distinguish the different aspects of an appraisal can be found in the literature (cf.
Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Admiraal, 1994; Admiraal et al., 2000; Scherer, Schorr, & Johnstone, 2001). All
studies distinguish first and second appraisal and emphasise the importance of emotions. Next to that,
they either include a description of the situation or an evaluation of significance of the event within the
appraisal process (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Admiraal, 1994; Admiraal et al., 2000) .
The first appraisal, summarized in the question Am I in trouble or being benefited, now or in the
future and in what way?, is often expressed in an emotion or feeling and can be divided into three kinds
of first appraisal: irrelevant ( a teacher experiences no implications for his wellbeing/teaching), benignpositive and stressful (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). When a situation is appraised as irrelevant, this means
that a teacher experiences no implications for his wellbeing/teaching and the situation impinges on no
value, need, or commitment or other part of the set of meanings forming a persons identity. BenignPositive appraisals can be found in situations that are perceived to enhance or preserve the wellbeing of
the teacher or the quality of the teaching. When an event is appraised stressful, a teacher evaluates an
event as being harmful or threatening. Each individual has a certain sensitivity and vulnerability to
certain types of events. The second appraisal is a complex evaluative process that takes into account:
(1) which options are available to deal with the situation, (2) the likelihood that a given option will
accomplish what it is supposed to, and (3) the likelihood that one can apply a particular strategy or set of
strategies effectively. (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, 35). The central question for the second appraisal is
What can and might be done about it?.
We can illustrate the process of perception and appraisal with an example from the previously
mentioned study by van der Want et al. (submitted). One of the teachers in her study, Elly, a teacher
who mentioned that she wanted to maintain a friendly, yet leading relationship with her students,
described the following situation: Students enter the classroom. I Greet them while they enter.. The
teachers first appraisal of the situation was: This is positive. I like this, otherwise I feel in a hurry and I
do not like that. . Thus, Elly seemed to appraise the situation as benign-positive. Her second appraisal
was more elaborate: I cannot start immediately, because the students are not ready yet. And I cannot
stand still all the time, so I walk. Basically, I have two options available for this situation, namely to wait
until they sit and are quiet, or to start as soon as possible. In this particular situation, I decided to wait.
This will increase the likelihood that I allow the students to settle down and fine-tune on me, so that
they are ready to start with the lesson. I always start the lesson like this, and it works most of the times.
. Hence, Ellys second appraisal concerned two possible options, an argumentation for the chosen
option to justify it, and an assessment of the effectiveness of the chosen option. As can be seen, in the
appraisal process mainly positive emotions occurred, and the situation was evaluated as a confirmation
or strengthening of the identity standards of the teacher.
Lewis (2005) defines appraisal as the evaluation of significance in a situation that can give rise to
an emotional response (p170). In other words, appraisal comprises a set of cognitive processes
(perception, evaluation, attention, memory, reflection and planning) that are directed towards what is
important for the self. Lewis (1999) argues that with respect to the interpersonal competence this
7

appraisal concerns the gap that exists between discipline procedures utilized by a teacher and his or her
idea of best practice. When teachers experience a discipline stressor (situation) they have a primary
and secondary appraisal. In his research, he found three mental models of discipline to be competing in
teachers appraisal of a situation: control, group management and influence. In the control model,
teachers choose to control students behaviour at school and determine a clear set of rules and
procedures to apply to students; in the group management model teachers manage their classroom by
organizing students to make their own decisions within a group context, with the teacher as one of the
group members; in the influence model, teachers influence each student so that he or she decides to
behave well, and they allow students to experience the natural consequences of their behaviour so that
they can choose to modify the way in which they behave. In his research, the control model appeared to
be most common in teachers appraisals of the situation.
In the previously mentioned research project of van der Want et al. (submitted), 30 teachers
(both beginning and experienced) teachers were videotaped and three situations were selected and
discussed with the teachers to map their appraisals: the start of the lesson, disorderly student behaviour
and reacting to positive student behaviour. These situations have been found to be important in
teachers coping processes with respect to the teacher-student interpersonal relationship and have been
reported prominently with respect to their practical knowledge on classroom management (Wubbels,
den Brok et al., 2006). With respect to the first situation, the lesson start, some beginning teachers
reported negative emotions, in particular feeling restless or impatient. These teachers wondered how to
get the students quiet when they enter the classroom. Other beginning, but also experienced teachers
reported more positive feelings and indicated they felt more relaxed. For them, the lesson start provided
the option to contact the students and to take some time to prepare themselves for teaching, and they
expected such moments to provide students with time to prepare for learning. With respect to the
situation dealing with reacting to positive student behaviour, most teachers reported positive feelings,
such as feeling confident, feeling reassurance, pleasure and relaxation. They indicated the situation
allowed them to recognise students, to provide them with attention, to ensure smooth transition to the
next lesson phase. Some teachers also experienced doubt as an emotion, they wondered if they
acknowledged the students explicitly enough, or even doubted they had actually rewarded students for
their contributions. With respect to the third situation, dealing with students disorderly behaviour, most
teachers reported negative emotions, such as feeling restless and irritated, although the former was
more prominently mentioned by beginners, whereas the latter was more often mentioned by veteran
teachers. Teachers indicated they wanted to correct students, but in a clear and brief manner, rather
than making a big issue out of the situation. Although such a reaction would be a possible option, it could
lead to a potential escalation of the situation. Beginning teachers also reported doubt as an emotion, as
they wondered whether they had been clear enough in their reaction. Overlooking the different
situations and appraisals, it is clear that different situations evoke different emotions and options to
react with teachers. At the same time, differences were also found between beginning and veteran
teachers. In many cases, we could relate such differences directly to the interpersonal role identity
standards of the teachers, as experienced teachers were more precise in their wording of the (desired)
relationship with students, and also could explicate how such standards related to different situations.
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5. Tensions or dilemmas in teachers identity standards

Researchers who study teachers professional identity seem to agree that professional identity is
not a stable entity, but rather a continually changing, dynamic, active and ongoing process, developing
over time and influenced by the teachers own personal characteristics, learning history, prior
experiences, etc. on the one hand and professional contexts, including significant others, knowledge,
skills and attitudes that are found relevant by teacher educators, etc. on the other (see e.g. Beauchamp
& Thomas, 2009; Beijaard et al., 2004; Cooper & Olson, 1996; Flores & Day, 2006; Hong, 2010; Olsen,
2010; 2011; Schepens, Aelterman, & Vlerick, 2009). Identity roles and identity standards constantly
change and develop, and are combined and integrated into the overarching identity of a teacher. These
standards and roles may be in harmony and balance, but they may also compete among each other or
may be in conflict. When this happens, tensions may occur, either within or between professional
identity standards, or between professional and personal identity standards (Alsup, 2006; Lipka &
Brinthaupt, 1999; Olsen, 2010; Volkmann & Anderson, 1998). If the personal and professional are not in
balance or if the connection between teachers personal subjectivities/ideologies and their professional
selves cannot be made (Alsup, 2006, p.37), then what is found relevant to the profession may conflict
with the personal desires from teachers and what they experience as good (Beijaard et al., 2004, p.109).
Such conflicts emerge as tensions in the professional identity of (beginning) teachers. In turn, these
tensions cause internal struggles and emotions, an undesirable situation. Especially for beginning
teachers such tensions can be real dilemmas (Volkmann & Anderson, 1998) when they feel as if they
have to make a choice between equally undesirable alternatives (Berube, 1982).
Pillen, Beijaard and den Brok (submitted) investigated the literature related to identity dilemmas
and conducted interviews with beginning teachers to identify 13 types of tensions or dilemmas, of which
several are related to interpersonal relationships. In a follow-up of their interview study, Pillen et al. (in
press) conducted a questionnaire study with 182 beginning teachers to determine what tensions and
dilemmas these teachers experienced, whether they recognized tensions often mentioned in the
literature, what kind of feelings and emotions these tensions evoked and how beginning teachers dealt
with their dilemmas (e.g. their coping strategies). While their study dealt with tensions outside the topic
of teacher-student relationships, their findings showed a series of interesting results in relation to this
topic. Tensions and dilemmas identified were among others:
- Wanting to care for students versus being expected to be tough. Beginning teachers may feel
that taking control of the class might sacrifice the close relationship they wish to have with
students (Fuller & Bown, 1975; Shapira-Lishchinsky, 2011; Volkmann & Anderson, 1998; de Jong
et al., submitted). Over 60% of the teachers in the questionnaire study recognized this tension
and this is not surprising since other studies have shown that student teachers want to be in
control and to be caring at the same time (e.g. Veenman, 1984; Volkmann & Anderson, 1998).
- Experiencing difficulties in maintaining emotional distance was recognized by 27% of the
beginning teachers. Beginning teachers may be closely involved in the lives of their students
(Veenman, 1984) as they want to show their students that they care about them. This could
possibly make it difficult for beginning teachers to distance themselves emotionally; at the same
9

time, however, in order to survive, they experience the need for this distance (Fuller & Bown,
1975).
- Wanting to treat students as persons as a whole versus feeling the need to treat them as learners
(or vice versa). If beginning teachers have not (yet) developed a clear perception of how they
view students, it makes it hard to decide whether to treat students as persons as a whole or as
learners (Berlak & Berlak, 1981). This tension was recognized by 24% of the beginning teachers in
the questionnaire study.
- Feeling like a student versus being expected to act like an adult teacher (recognized by 16.5% of
the beginning teachers in the questionnaire study). Beginning teachers may still feel like a
student on the inside, but they are expected by students (and colleagues) to behave like real
teachers and as adults (Fuller & Bown, 1975; Volkmann & Anderson, 1998).
- Wanting to respect students integrity versus feeling the need to work against this integrity. This
tension was recognized by 17,5% of the beginning teachers. Beginning teachers may be taken
into confidence by one of their students. This situation becomes difficult when they are forced to
decide whether to respect this students integrity or to act against it, when doing this seems
necessary in order to protect the student or other people (Klvemark, Hglund, Hansson,
Westerholm, & Arnetz, 2004; Shapira-Lishchinsky, 2011).
- Experiencing conflicting loyalties towards students and colleagues. A beginning teacher may
experience conflicting loyalties, for example when a student takes him/her into confidence
regarding a colleague (Klvemark et al., 2004; Shapira-Lishchinsky, 2011).
Not surprisingly, teachers mainly mentioned negative emotions in relation to experiencing these
tensions, such as feeling helpless, feeling aware of ones own shortcomings, feeling angry, feeling
insecure or doubtful, feeling not being taken seriously, lacking motivation, feeling frustrated, feeling
uncomfortable and unsettled, feeling fed up or feeling being pushed. The most common feeling reported
to all interpersonal tensions were feeling helpless. In terms of coping strategies, it appeared that most
beginning teachers decided to speak to a significant other about their problems this was the most
common strategy reported across all interpersonal tensions and was mentioned on average over 48
percent of the times. However, in relation to the mentioned tensions other strategies also showed up
significantly, such as finding a solution yourself (over 30 percent) and putting up with the situation
(almost 20 percent). The solution receiving help without asking for it was hardly mentioned by the
beginning teachers. It was striking, though, that the vast majority of the answers by beginning teachers
suggested finding solutions was something on their own initiative; this suggests that teacher educators
and supervisors of schools may not be aware of the tensions experienced by teachers, may not be able
to contribute to solutions or may not be willing to do so.
As indicated in the reported study by Pillen at al. (in press), emotions play an important role in
an individuals experience of tensions (e.g. Volkmann & Anderson, 1998). Due to the fact that tensions
can be considered as very stressful for beginning teachers, it seems natural that they are accompanied
by negative feelings (Flores & Day, 2004; Kelchtermans & Ballet, 2002). Since there is no (easy) solution
for many tensions either, beginning teachers need to learn to cope with the tensions they experience.
Coping is making an effort to manage a troubled person-environment relationship and implies that
10

teachers appraise their tensions (Admiraal et al., 2000). In the relevant literature, a wide variety of ways
in which teachers may respond to work-related stress can be found (Davis, Petisch, & Smithey, 2006;
Yonemura, 1986). Admiraal et al. (2000), for example, followed on from the work of Lazarus and Folkman
(1984) by distinguishing between emotion-focused coping behaviour and problem-focused coping
behaviour. Emotion-focused coping behaviour is influenced by personality factors and is likely to occur
when beginning teachers assume that environmental conditions cannot be modified. They may respond,
for example, with avoidance tactics, minimisation, and distancing or selective attention. Problemfocused coping behaviour is more dependent on the context and is related to problem-solving strategies.
Beginning teachers may define their problem, speak to significant others or search for alternative
solutions: then they take action (Admiraal et al., 2000).
6. Discussion and implications
In this chapter, a model to analyze and describe teachers emotions and reactions in the
classroom related to the domain of teacher-student interpersonal relationships, was presented and
illustrated with findings from two dissertation studies in progress. The proposed model analyzed such
emotions and reactions from a professional identity perspective. It was argued that emotions and
reactions emerge on the one hand from the comparison between a teachers identity role standards and
their appraisal of particular situations, and on the other hand from the inclination of teachers to resolve
tensions, inconsistencies, or discrepancies between identity role standards within and across different
role domains.
Obviously, the present contribution should be regarded as a very first step in presenting and
using the model to analyze teacher emotions and reactions. Nevertheless, our empirical findings provide
support for the fact that different types of emotions of teachers play a role when it comes to domain of
teacher-student interpersonal relationships in the classroom, and that it may be fruitful to use a
professional identity perspective to analyze these.
More in particular, this contribution showed that different tensions can occur with respect to the
interpersonal role identity standards of teachers, that these are often accompanied with negative
emotions and that their resolvement often depends on the own initiative of teachers experiencing them.
The most common experienced tension was the tension of the perceived need to be strict versus the
desire to be friendly and helpful. Volkmann and Anderson (1998) treated this care-strictness tension as
an identity dilemma in their article about creating professional identity. They discussed one beginning
teachers dilemma in terms of the concept of caring face/tough face: The question that worried this
beginning teacher was: How do I take charge and still show my students that I care about them? (p.
301). This tension also corresponds to classroom management and building a good relationship with
students, which is one of the most serious issues encountered by beginning teachers (Veenman, 1984).
Research on teacher-student relationships has shown that in about 80% of cases beginning teachers
become emotionally involved with their students (Wubbels et al., 2006). Moreover, a study by
Brekelmans, Wubbels and van Tartwijk (2005) showed that teachers perceptions of the ideal levels of
control (strictness) and caring (emotional involvement with the students) remain at a high and relatively
stable level during their career, but that student teachers and beginning teachers are perceived as less
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controlling (strict) than their more experienced colleagues. As a result, beginning teachers often
experience differences between desirable and ideal levels of control, and yet are unable to bridge this
divide. It is no surprise that this evokes many emotions in the classroom, and that many of these
emotions are unpleasant. Yet, it is comforting that many teachers overcome this tension, although one
may wonder at what cost and in what period of time.
The findings with respect to teachers appraisal of classroom situation showed that teachers
role identity standards to a large degree can explain why teachers react to situations in a particular way,
but also why they experience particular emotions or perceive a situation in a particular fashion. It was
striking that the care-strictness tension also echoed teachers appraisals in particular their first, more
emotional appraisal.
Our model (and findings) have several implications for practice. First, the different tensions put
forward as well as themes and steps in the appraisal process of specific classroom situations can be
helpful for both (student) teachers as well as teacher educators. It is important that tensions and
appraisal tendencies are recognized early on, in order to help beginning teachers to cope with them. Our
findings suggested that many tensions and emotions stay relatively hidden, as a result of which teachers
may not always get the support they need. Beginning teachers cannot be left on their own by their
teacher educators and mentors in (practice) schools. Leijen, Lam, Wildschut, and Simons (2009) argue
that it would be helpful if beginning teachers are guided to give meaning to the negative feelings that
accompany the tensions they experience and those experienced by others. This educative approach to
professional identity tensions requires teacher educators and mentors in schools to be able to recognize
tensions and the many aspects that may play a part in them (Ehrich, Kimber, Millwater, & Cranston,
2011). Instead of the counter-productive effect that tensions appear to have when they are experienced,
teacher educators must be able to help their student teachers to turn tensions into learning moments.
An interesting point of discussion might be to what degree tensions or difficult classroom
situations should be resolved, and whether they are necessary for professional growth to occur.
According to Meijer (2011), beginning teachers will develop a commitment to teaching because of the
intense emotions that they need to cope with. Possible positive consequences have also been referred to
by other researchers, who stress that tensions can be of great importance for the development of
teachers professional identity (Alsup, 2006; Meijer, 2011; Olsen, 2010). As such, professional identity
tensions appear to be a very positive tool for teacher learning.
Finally, as has been noted, this study was a very first step in putting forward a model for
analyzing teacher emotions relating to the domain of teacher-student interpersonal relationships from a
professional identity perspective. Obviously, more research is needed to verify the themes, tensions and
processes described in this chapter. We hope this contribution will inspire other researchers to take such
a perspective and apply the model to other domains and professional identity standards as well.
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