Understanding Pre-service Teachers’ Emotion Experience During Teaching Practice in Tanzania: Causes, Management Strategies and the Impacts in Teaching

Abstract

Teacher‘s emotions serves as a central aspect of teachers’ life as it govern classroom interactions and have a significant impact on students’ learning. There are various factors that are associated with causing emotions and influencing teacher emotions like individual expectations, working environments or interaction patterns between sides. Given this, the study was structured to understand pre-service teachers’ emotional experience during teaching practices. Specifically, the study sought to examine the causes, management strategies and its impact in the process of teaching and learning. Data were collected from 87 participants who were pre-service teachers who had been in teaching practice for eight weeks. The quantitative data collected were analysed by using MS excel 2007 and presented in descriptive statistics while qualitative data were analysed by using thematic analysis and supported with direct quotes. The findings show that pre-service teachers experienced emotions when their expectations about students’ performances and active engagement were not met as well as when they achieved their goals of creating active learning environments. In situations that generated negative emotions, pre-service teachers sought advice from experienced teachers, they engaged in refreshing activities like listening to music, playing games or in classroom situations they were flexible to change to more interesting and engaging methods. The findings further revealed that impact of emotional experience is in two folds. On one side teachers become motivated to try new innovation and creativity when they experience positive emotion while on the other side they become discouraged when they experience negative emotions. Based on these findings, it is recommended that more studies on emotional dissonance should be conducted to help broader understanding of teacher emotions and how they can help improve their teaching.

Keywords: emotion experience, pre-service teachers, teacher education, teaching practice

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-9-12

Publication date:March 31^st 2020