“If you want others to respect you, you have to respect yourself”: Teachers’ views on respect related to their profession

• Main Authors: Ólafsdóttir, Sigrún Erla, Aðalbjarnardóttir, Sigrún
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands 2016
• Subjects: words respect for the teacher profession;selfrespect;teachers; sjálfsvirðing kennara;virðing fyrir kennarastarfi;að efla virðingu fyrir kennarastarfi; Kane; Maður; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/netla/article/view/2404

Research on teachers’ professionalism has recently started to focus on their professional identity (e.g., Day et al., 2006; Kelchtermans, 2007; Lasky, 2005). However, few studies have focused on their selfrespect as part of their professional identity. Moreover, while some studies have explored teachers’ perceptions of respect for their profession, most of them have been conducted using questionnaires (e.g., Kane & Mallon, 2006; Ólafsson & Björnsson, 2009). The main aim of this study, conducted in Iceland, is to better understand teachers’ selfrespect and how they perceive respect both for themselves and their profession in general. A second aim is to explore how they feel this can be enhanced. Using a qualitative research approach, data were collected through semistructured indepth interviews with six teachers, three female and three male. The analysis revealed that the six teachers feel they have good selfrespect as teachers. They also believe that, in general, teachers have good selfrespect; those who do not, they say, are quick to leave the profession. They describe some teachers who lack selfrespect, who talk about their work in a degrading and negative way, but they see this group as small but loud. Further, these six teachers believe that without selfrespect teachers would not be able to do their work adequately, in a way that affects their students, and their students’ emotional wellbeing, academic achievement, and trust for their teachers. They also believe that teachers’ selfrespect is associated with the respect students have for their teachers: students have more respect for teachers who respect themselves. The teachers think that most of the students and parents they interact with on a daily basis do respect teachers. In contrast, they feel that local governments, the Ministry of Education, and the public often do not respect teachers and that discussions about teachers are often negative and unprofessional. Most of them believe that the teachers’ union struggle has had a negative effect on ...