Performativity and the Power of Shame: Lesson Observations, Emotional Labour and Professional Habitus

Abstract

Teaching and learning observations (henceforth ‘observations’) are used in educational environments worldwide to assess teaching quality and support professional development through reflexivity. Pressures from neo-liberalist, New Right politics encourage observations that are evaluative in nature, thereby over-emphasising quantitative strategies. Research suggests some observations are ineffectual because of emotional tensions between what is perceived as ‘authentic’ teaching and the inherent performativity required by managerialist policies ( Ball 2003 ). But as Scheff (2003) argues, conformity to social processes is not necessarily based on an individual's awareness of explicit rewards or sanctions resulting from judgements. Instead it can be based on invisible self-perceptions of the risk of shame. In turn, this discourages playfulness as these actions may be considered deviations from ‘best practice’. Hence observations can limit teacher effectiveness because they involve interpretations and judgements by an Other ( Price 2001 ). This article draws on narrative data from tertiary-sector staff in a UK research study using a multi-disciplinary interpretive framework ( Denzin 1989 ). Given the importance attributed to reflexivity in teaching practice, research in this area is sparse. Emotional factors within these contexts are often disregarded, perhaps because articulating feelings is considered weak or dangerous ( Lupton 1998 ). However, Bourdieu's theoretical concepts of professional habitus, field and capital bring deeper meaning to interpretations of teachers’ embodied emotional labour ( Colley 2006 a; Nias 1996 ; Reay 2004 ). The subtle nuance within the participants’ narratives illuminates the observer/observee dynamic within the classroom, providing examples of the complex, fluid nature of perceptions of performativity in observations; the inherent rewards and risks.

Teachers' Emotion and Identity Work During a Pandemic

“…If not able to produce the academic gains some reformers associated with educational equity, teachers may feel that they have fallen short. Further, the work of conforming to social constructions of teacher "effectiveness" can breed shame or a sense of doubt in teachers (Edgington, 2016). Therefore, the tensions associated with reassessing and renegotiating elements of her teacher identity would be understandably taxing.…”

An Exploration of Language Teacher Reflection, Emotion Labor, and Emotional Capital

“…We find that as language teachers develop the capacity to perform the kinds of emotions expected of them, they can gain emotional capital in their professional context. It is also true that teachers often reproduce feeling rules as they accumulate emotional capital (Edgington, 2016;Zembylas, 2005Zembylas, , 2007. Developing emotional capital holds no guarantees that teachers will resist social inequities.…”

“…Most important, as Ward and McMurray (2016) have argued, emotional capital enables individuals to persist in undertaking difficult emotion labor. That is, the accumulation of emotional capital does not diminish the need for teachers to struggle to conform to or resist the “written or ‘unwritten’ rules of the field” (Edgington, 2016, p. 4), but, as a resource developed in relation to the feeling rules of their school contexts, it can be exchanged for an expanded capacity to work through those struggles. It is for this reason that Ward and McMurray view emotional capital as “the socially, culturally and economically informed capacity to labour emotionally” (p. 92).…”

Transformative Life Writingtm: A Framework for Embedding Student Soft Skills? Reflections on the Highs and Lows of Delivering a Transformative Curriculum

“…Ironically, it was the level of safety in the room, that had given her permission to rant in the first place. On hindsight, I am also struck by her determination to stay with the themes that emerged, and not be subsumed by shame (Edgington, 2016). This student's learning was palpable, as was her progress.…”