Teachers' Emotions and Teaching: A Review of the Literature and Directions for Future Research

The purpose of this study is to review the limited literature on the emotional aspects of teachers' lives. First, a multicomponential perspective on emotions is described, then the existing literature on teachers' positive and negative emotions is reviewed and critiqued. Next is a summary of the literature suggesting that teachers' emotions influence teachers' and students' cognitions, motivation, and behaviors. Four areas for future research are proposed: management and discipline, adoption and use of teaching strategies, learning to teach, and teachers' motivation. An overview of research methods used in a multicomponential perspective on emotions is provided. This review draws on a variety of research literatures: educational psychology, social and personality psychology, educational sociology, and research on teachers and teaching.

[1]  Willibald Ruch,et al.  Exhilaration and humor. , 1993 .

[2]  J. Cacioppo,et al.  The psychophysiology of emotion. , 1993 .

[3]  Ralph T. Putnam,et al.  What Do New Views of Knowledge and Thinking Have to Say About Research on Teacher Learning? , 2000 .

[4]  P. Jackson.  Life in Classrooms , 1968 .

[5]  B. Fredrickson.  The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. , 2001, The American psychologist.

[6]  Les Tickle.  New Teachers and the Emotions of Learning Teaching , 1991 .

[7]  C. Midgley,et al.  Teacher Discourse and Sixth Graders' Reported Affect and Achievement Behaviors in Two High-Mastery/High-Performance Mathematics Classrooms , 2003, The Elementary School Journal.

[8]  Eric M. Anderman,et al.  The classroom environment and students' reports of avoidance strategies in mathematics: A multimethod study. , 2002 .

[9]  J. Gross.  The Emerging Field of Emotion Regulation: An Integrative Review , 1998 .

[10]  S. Raudenbush,et al.  Contextual Effects on the Self-Perceived Efficacy of High School Teachers. , 1992 .

[11]  Neal M. Ashkanasy,et al.  The emerging role of emotions in work life: An introduction. , 2000 .

[12]  J. Thomas,et al.  On Becoming a Good Teacher: Reflective Practice with Regard to Children's Voices , 1998 .

[13]  J. Kounin.  Discipline and group management in classrooms , 1970 .

[14]  E. Aronson,et al.  The Jigsaw Classroom: Building Cooperation in the Classroom , 1997 .

[15]  Carol Midgley,et al.  Transforming school cultures , 1996 .

[16]  J. Averill.  Anger and Aggression: An Essay on Emotion , 1982 .

[17]  J. Gottman.  What predicts divorce? The relationship between marital processes and marital outcomes. , 1994 .

[18]  Steve Reifman.  How to Be an Effective Teacher , 1996 .

[19]  A. Hargreaves,et al.  Teaching and guilt: Exploring the feelings of teaching , 1991 .

[20]  Blake E. Ashforth,et al.  Emotion in the Workplace: A Reappraisal , 1995 .

[21]  Robert E. Slavin,et al.  Success for All : research and reform in elementary education , 2001 .

[22]  Nancy E. Perry,et al.  Investigating Teacher-Student Interactions That Foster Self-Regulated Learning , 2002 .

[23]  Phoebe C. Ellsworth,et al.  Sense, culture, and sensibility. , 1994 .

[24]  Craig A. Smith,et al.  Appraisal theory: Overview, assumptions, varieties, controversies. , 2001 .

[25]  K. Scherer,et al.  Vocal expression and communication of emotion. , 1993 .

[26]  Alfredo J. Artiles,et al.  A Cross-National Study of Teachers' Attributional Patterns , 2000 .

[27]  M. Csíkszentmihályi.  Flow. The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York (HarperPerennial) 1990. , 1990 .

[28]  David J. Kavanagh,et al.  Mood and self-efficacy: Impact of joy and sadness on perceived capabilities , 1985, Cognitive Therapy and Research.

[29]  Megan Tschannen-Moran,et al.  Teacher Efficacy: Its Meaning and Measure , 1998 .

[30]  P. Ekman,et al.  DIFFERENCES Universals and Cultural Differences in the Judgments of Facial Expressions of Emotion , 2004 .

[31]  Ralph T. Putnam,et al.  Learning to teach. , 1996 .

[32]  R. Larson,et al.  Emotional Transmission in the Daily Lives of Families: A New Paradigm for Studying Family Process , 1999 .

[33]  U. Dimberg,et al.  Unconscious Facial Reactions to Emotional Facial Expressions , 2000, Psychological science.

[34]  H. Gardner,et al.  The Mind's New Science , 1985 .

[35]  James J. Gross,et al.  Facets of emotional Expressivity: Three self-report factors and their correlates , 1995 .

[36]  B. Rogoff.  Apprenticeship in Thinking: Cognitive Development in Social Context , 1990 .

[37]  Debra K. Meyer,et al.  Students' Reports of Motivation and Negative Affect: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis. , 1998 .

[38]  C. Darwin.  The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals , .

[39]  J. Comer.  Child by Child: The Comer Process for Change in Education , 1999 .

[40]  B. Weiner,et al.  An attributional examination of retributive versus utilitarian philosophies of punishment , 1997 .

[41]  Phoebe C. Ellsworth,et al.  The Role of Culture in Appraisal , 2001 .

[42]  Jennifer S. Beer,et al.  Facial expression of emotion. , 2003 .

[43]  B. Weiner,et al.  Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Theories of Motivation from an Attributional Perspective , 2001 .

[44]  Alicia A. Grandey,et al.  Emotion regulation in the workplace: a new way to conceptualize emotional labor. , 2000, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[45]  M. Eysenck,et al.  Anxiety and Performance: The Processing Efficiency Theory , 1992 .

[46]  S. Epstein.  Emotion and self-theory. , 1993 .

[47]  M. Ashcraft,et al.  The relationships among working memory, math anxiety, and performance. , 2001, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[48]  K. Strongman.  International review of studies on emotion , 1991 .

[49]  P. Peterson,et al.  Teachers' Interpretations of "CGI" after Four Years: Meanings and Practices. , 1995 .

[50]  Andy Hargreaves,et al.  The emotional practice of teaching , 1998 .

[51]  D. Tucker,et al.  Motivating the focus of attention. , 1994 .

[52]  Leonard S. Cahen,et al.  Educational Testing Service , 1970 .

[53]  Ramon Lewis,et al.  Classroom discipline and student responsibility:: The students’ view , 2001 .

[54]  Laura M. Stough,et al.  Classroom Management: A Critical Part of Educational Psychology, With Implications for Teacher Education , 2001 .

[55]  E. Skinner,et al.  Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. , 1993 .

[56]  Diane S. Pollard,et al.  African-Centered Schooling in Theory and Practice , 2000 .

[57]  A. Schaefer,et al.  Emotion and memory. , 2001 .

[58]  Nedra A. Crow,et al.  Emerging As a Teacher , 1992 .

[59]  M. Csíkszentmihályi.  Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience , 1990 .

[60]  L. F. Barrett,et al.  Handbook of Emotions , 1993 .

[61]  S. Planalp,et al.  Communicating Emotion: Social, Moral, and Cultural Processes , 1999 .

[62]  L. Goldstein.  The Relational Zone: The Role of Caring Relationships in the Co-Construction of Mind , 1999 .

[63]  R. Baumeister,et al.  Emotional distress regulation takes precedence over impulse control: if you feel bad, do it! , 2001, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[64]  Freema Elbaz,et al.  Hope, Attentiveness, and Caring for Difference: The Moral Voice in Teaching. , 1992 .

[65]  Debra K. Meyer,et al.  Discovering Emotion in Classroom Motivation Research , 2002 .

[66]  David Labaree.  On the Nature of Teaching and Teacher Education , 2000 .

[67]  D. Lortie.  Schoolteacher: A Sociological Study , 1976 .

[68]  Marilyn Cochran-Smith.  Reinventing Student Teaching , 1991 .

[69]  J. Little,et al.  The Emotional Contours and Career Trajectories of (Disappointed) Reform Enthusiasts , 1996 .

[70]  K. Wentzel.  Social goals and social relationships as motivators of school adjustment , 1996 .

[71]  James A. Russell,et al.  Everyday Conceptions of Emotion , 1995 .

[72]  M. Clark.  Teacher Response to Learning Disability , 1997, Journal of learning disabilities.

[73]  P. Shaver,et al.  Emotion knowledge: further exploration of a prototype approach. , 1987 .

[74]  R. Levenson,et al.  Cultural Influences on Emotional Responding , 1997 .

[75]  A. Hargreaves.  The emotional politics of teaching and teacher development: with implications for educational leadership , 1998 .

[76]  N. Frijda.  The self and emotions , 2001 .

[77]  P. Salovey,et al.  Models of emotional intelligence , 2000 .

[78]  M. Csíkszentmihályi,et al.  The Quality of Experience of Asian American Adolescents in Academic Activities: An Exploration of Educational Achievement , 1998 .

[79]  J. Nias,et al.  Primary Teachers Talking: A Study of Teaching As Work , 1989 .

[80]  A. Hargreaves.  Mixed emotions: teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with students , 2000 .

[81]  Bob Jeffrey,et al.  Teachable Moments: The Art of Teaching in Primary Schools , 1996 .

[82]  P. Ellsworth,et al.  Beyond simple pessimism: effects of sadness and anger on social perception. , 1993, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[83]  R. Baumeister,et al.  Losing Control: How and Why People Fail at Self-Regulation , 1994 .

[84]  P. Niedenthal,et al.  An influence of positive affect on social categorization , 1992 .

[85]  B. Weiner,et al.  Justice and utility in the classroom: An attributional analysis of the goals of teachers' punishment and intervention strategies. , 2001 .

[86]  A. Bandura.  Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control , 1997, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[87]  M. Cole.  Cultural psychology: a once and future discipline? , 1996, Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation.

[88]  Henry L. Tosi.  A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance , 1991 .

[89]  Geert Kelchtermans.  Teacher Vulnerability: understanding its moral and political roots , 1996 .

[90]  L. Carstensen,et al.  The influence of age and gender on affect, physiology, and their interrelations: a study of long-term marriages. , 1994, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[91]  E. Emmer.  Towards an Understanding of the Primacy of Classroom Management and Discipline , 1994 .

[92]  John A. Ross,et al.  Within-teacher predictors of teacher efficacy , 1996 .

[93]  Sandra Graham,et al.  Communicating sympathy and anger to Black and White children: The cognitive (attributional) consequences of affective cues. , 1984 .

[94]  Elizabeth A. Linnenbrink,et al.  Achievement Goal Theory and Affect: An Asymmetrical Bidirectional Model , 2002 .

[95]  T. Goetz,et al.  Academic Emotions in Students' Self-Regulated Learning and Achievement: A Program of Qualitative and Quantitative Research , 2002 .

[96]  V. Folkes,et al.  Communicating low ability in the classroom: Bad things good teachers sometimes do. , 1990 .

[97]  L. F. Barrett,et al.  Handbook of emotions, 2nd ed. , 2000 .

[98]  E. Deci,et al.  Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. , 2000, The American psychologist.

[99]  M. Wittrock.  Handbook of research on teaching , 1986 .

[100]  Joseph E LeDoux.  The emotional brain , 1996 .

[101]  S. Lasky.  The cultural and emotional politics of teacher–parent interactions. , 2000 .

[102]  P. Cobb,et al.  Cognitive and Situated Learning Perspectives in Theory and Practice , 1999 .

[103]  M. Maehr,et al.  Achievement Goals and Student Well-Being. , 1999, Contemporary educational psychology.

[104]  M. Ford.  Motivating Humans: Goals, Emotions, and Personal Agency Beliefs , 1992 .

[105]  Daniel Reisberg,et al.  Emotion, arousal, and memory for detail. , 1992 .

[106]  Z. Kövecses,et al.  Metaphor and Emotion: Language, Culture, and Body in Human Feeling , 2000 .

[107]  John M. Gottman,et al.  Meta-Emotion: How Families Communicate Emotionally , 1997 .

[108]  P. Schutz,et al.  Inquiry on Emotions in Education , 2002 .

[109]  Cynthia D. Fisher,et al.  Mood and emotions while working: missing pieces of job satisfaction? , 2000 .

[110]  K. Scherer,et al.  Appraisal processes in emotion: Theory, methods, research. , 2001 .

[111]  Karin Mogg,et al.  Selective Attention and Anxiety: A Cognitive–Motivational Perspective , 2005 .

[112]  R. Lazarus.  Emotion and Adaptation , 1991 .

[113]  M. Haberman,et al.  Handbook of research on teacher education , 1990 .

[114]  Carol Midgley,et al.  Teachers' Communication of Goal Orientations in Four Fifth-Grade Classrooms , 2001, The Elementary School Journal.

[115]  P. Phelan.  Speaking Up: Students' Perspectives on School. , 1992 .

[116]  J. Calderhead.  Teachers’ beliefs and knowledge , 2019, Problem Solving for Teaching and Learning.

[117]  Daniel K. Mroczek,et al.  Age and Emotion in Adulthood , 2001 .

[118]  B. Mellers,et al.  Anticipated Emotions as Guides to Choice , 2001 .

[119]  R. Beach,et al.  Changes in Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Conflicts and Tensions. , 1998 .

[120]  Virginia Richardson,et al.  Handbook of Research on Teaching , 2001 .

[121]  K. Oatley.  Best Laid Schemes: The Psychology of Emotions , 1992 .

[122]  Margaret H. Gheen,et al.  Classroom goal structure and student disruptive behaviour. , 2002, The British journal of educational psychology.

[123]  L. Carstensen,et al.  Emotional experience in everyday life across the adult life span. , 2000, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[124]  Michael Golby.  Teachers' Emotions: An Illustrated Discussion. , 1996 .

[125]  Gloria J. Ladson-Billings,et al.  The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children , 1994 .

[126]  J. Nias.  Thinking about Feeling: the emotions in teaching , 1996 .

[127]  A. Isen,et al.  Positive affect and decision making. , 1993 .

[128]  K. Scherer,et al.  Culture and emotion. , 1997 .

[129]  Reinout W. Wiers,et al.  Emotions and emotion words , 1995 .