What affects the arrogant, proud or ashamed pre-service teacher in mathematics? Effects of social comparison, gender and self-concept on self-conscious emotions

Abstract

Emotions are essential for the development of professional competence and identity of pre-service teachers. Thus, they can also be seen as an inherent part of teachers’ professional competence and identity. They also influence teachers’ later emotional experience when teaching at school. Mathematics, especially, triggers activating emotions in pre-service primary school teachers. Pride and shame can be understood as relevant achievement emotions, which are also closely linked to the self-concept of a person. Nevertheless, they have been insufficiently studied among pre-service mathematics teachers so far. The present study examines authentic and hubristic pride and shame among n = 310 German prospective primary school teachers in relation to self-concept (ability vs. effort), gender and social comparison with fellow students regarding their own achievement. On the one hand, the results point to the difference between authentic and hubristic pride, and on the other hand, the study provides evidence for the dynamic closeness of shame and hubristic pride. Practical implications, especially for teacher education, are discussed against the background of the limitations of the study.

“They Are our Future”: Professional Pride in Language Teachers across the Globe

“…Despite being self‐oriented in nature, for our participants, this kind of pride did not reflect hubristic pride, which is typically associated with stable internal causes such as inherent feelings of superiority (Tracy & Robins, 2007a). Rather, in our dataset, self‐oriented pride appeared most often linked to authentic forms of pride (see also Jenßen, 2021), as it stemmed from teachers' evaluations of their own effort and specific achievements, and thus reflected much more unstable causes. An authentic sense of pride was most often experienced when these teachers felt agentic about their impact on students' academic progress and lives more broadly, suggesting that agency and locus of control may also play a role in determining different types of pride (see also Salerno, Laran, & Janiszewski, 2015).…”

“…In the educational context, very few studies have looked into the effects of pride on teachers and students, or in relation to the specific subjects they teach (for exceptions, see: Etherington, 2019; Jenßen, 2021; Pawłowska, 2020; Ross & Stracke, 2016). However, pride is a core emotion in the classroom and is experienced regularly by both teachers (Carson, 2006) and learners (Ross & Stracke, 2016).…”

“…Interestingly, however, Carson (2006) also found that it was difficult for some teachers to express feelings of pride, or some felt it was inappropriate or even were ashamed to display such feelings due to the negative connotation sometimes ascribed to pride. In another study conducted by Jenßen (2021), the author looked into feelings of pride (both authentic and hubristic pride) among 310 pre‐service mathematics teachers in Germany, both in relation to their self‐concept and in comparison to other fellow students. He found that mathematics triggers activating emotions in teachers of this subject and that these mathematics teachers experience more authentic than hubristic pride when teaching the subject (Jenßen, 2021).…”

“…In another study conducted by Jenßen (2021), the author looked into feelings of pride (both authentic and hubristic pride) among 310 pre‐service mathematics teachers in Germany, both in relation to their self‐concept and in comparison to other fellow students. He found that mathematics triggers activating emotions in teachers of this subject and that these mathematics teachers experience more authentic than hubristic pride when teaching the subject (Jenßen, 2021).…”

Measuring Pre-service Primary Teachers’ Shame in Mathematics—a Comprehensive Validation Study

“…In this sense, shame can potentially be regarded as a constituent component of a primary school mathematics teacher's identity when they enter teacher education (Lutovac, 2020;Panagi, 2013). Jenßen (2021) revealed that pre-service primary teachers' shame in mathematics develops through upward comparisons and is associated with low mathematics achievement and a low ability self-concept in mathematics and is more often reported by females than males.…”