Experienced Teachers Reflecting on Challenging Situations in School

Abstract

The aim of this study is to develop an understanding of how teachers in a lower secondary school deal with challenging situations in the classroom and whether or not they experience that they can obtain help in coping with these situations. Three teachers with five to nine years of teaching experience took part in semi-structured interviews. Before the interviews and before they started to write log book entries for fourteen days to document and reflect on these situations as they occurred in their work in school, the teachers were told that they were to focus on what they felt were challenging situations in their practice. The study shows that these three teachers have various experiences of what they find is difficult to tackle, and that these situations are related to experiences they have had before they started in their profession, and to their values and beliefs. The study also shows that there are common situations that the three teachers perceive as difficult. It becomes evident from the analysis of the data material that they think that good relations between teacher and pupils and between pupils themselves, thus a trustful learning environment, are a good foundation from which to learn to deal with challenging situations in the classroom. They also agree that sharing experiences and solving problems together helps them to tackle challenging situations in school. The teachers think that their basic teacher education has had little influence on their school practice, and they emphasise that further education taken either on campus or with school as the learning arena helps them in their daily practice when confronted with challenging situations.