Schools reality captured in words teachers narrative perspective

Abstract

Introduction: Aim of the article is to present a conducted study that bases its theory on the narrative approach in psychology. Participants of this study were working teachers who varied in job seniority. The aim of the study was to describe how teachers perceive the reality of schools work if and how it changed between the first days of work and present times, what critical events influenced view of schools reality, and how they perceive modern pupils. The conclusions of this study show a negative image of work in school, burnout symptoms in teachersthat took part in the study, and upholding feeling of vivid, unfavourable, social image of teachers. Method: To answer the question regarding how active teacher constructs their narratives about schools reality data, collected by using an online constructed questionnaire, was analysed using guidelines from a method of interpretative-phenomenological analysis. Results: Results show a negative view of work in school, symptoms of burnout, and awareness of a negative social view on teachers. Conclusions: Narratives regarding the schools reality, described by active teachers, have a pessimistic tone. In these stories a common theme is that of a negative view on work in school, some of them contain content about career burnout and an unsympathetic point of view regarding teachers in society. Qualitative studies of teachers narratives can be a way of better understanding the psychological states of teachers which could lead to implementing some sorts of changes in the work environment regarding, for example, career burnout.