Caring, Power, and the Emotional and Organizational Architecture of Life in Schools
Walls, Jeff
2017-12
Loading...
View/Download File
Persistent link to this item
Statistics
View StatisticsJournal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Title
Caring, Power, and the Emotional and Organizational Architecture of Life in Schools
Authors
Published Date
2017-12
Publisher
Type
Thesis or Dissertation
Abstract
Purpose: Schools are expected to care for students, but many students do not experience care at school- especially students from historically underserved populations. One reason why implicates the way that school adults use their positional and relational power inside and outside of classrooms. The purpose of this study is to examine how adults, individually and collectively, think about and use their power in efforts to care for students, and how students experience these efforts. Research Methods/Approach: This study employs a grounded theory approach and utilizes participant observation and photo elicitation interviews of students and staff at two middle schools. Findings: At the classroom level, caring and power intersect in ways that reveal teachers’ understanding and support of student emotions. Teachers with stable caring relations often view care and control as complements, whereas teachers with less stable caring relations view care and control as substitutes. At the organizational level, the existence of schoolwide expectations and common beliefs amongst teachers had implications for whether caring was practiced in a consistent way throughout the school. Conclusions and Implications: This study reveals the importance of leadership support for building teachers’ reflectiveness and decision-making regarding supporting students’ emotions. It also reveals the importance of consistent beliefs about caring and students’ potential amongst school adults to build capacity and solve organization-wide problems.
Description
University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. December 2017. Major: Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development. Advisors: Karen Seashore, Peter Demerath. 1 computer file (PDF); viii, 251 pages.
Related to
Replaces
License
Collections
Series/Report Number
Funding information
Isbn identifier
Doi identifier
Previously Published Citation
Suggested citation
Walls, Jeff. (2017). Caring, Power, and the Emotional and Organizational Architecture of Life in Schools. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/194623.
Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.