An ecological examination of teachers' emotions in the school context

This qualitative case study discusses teachers' emotions, in particular two elementary teachers in a school serving a high-poverty, high-minority population. Using Bronfenbrenner's ecological system framework, we examined how these teachers' internal psychological characteristics transact with external environments to produce emotions. Both teachers experienced unpleasant emotions such as disappointment and frustration in their daily work. However, instead of dwelling on the unpleasant emotions, they shifted their thinking to consider ways they could achieve more favorable outcomes. Our findings showed that these coping strategies were deeply connected to their individual psychological biographies, specifically their pedagogical beliefs and well-developed professional identity.

► Teachers' sense of vocation is an important factor in their decisions to leave the profession.
► Teachers' identity, beliefs and goals greatly impact the nature of their emotional experiences.
► Teachers' emotional experiences are influenced by the immediate and distal environmental contexts.
► Vocation, identity, positive outcomes and deep knowledge of students tend to mitigate burnout.