A Conceptualization of the Emotional Phase of Preservice Teachers’ Experiences as a Pedagogical Phenomenon

Abstract

Even though being a teacher, in a broad sense involve emotions, emotions as a pedagogical concern are, to a limited extent, reflected in Norwegian teacher education. This also seems to be a tendency regarding international teacher education where the notion of the preservice teachers’ emotions is rarely addressed and has even been ignored. To contrast this tendency, the emotional phase of preservice teachers’ experiences during Norwegian teacher education is explored. The purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding of what this emotional phase consists of. Using a phenomenographic approach, dialogical informed in-depth interviews with preservice teachers have been conducted. Through an abductive analysis of the material, a conceptualization of the emotional phase of preservice teachers’ experiences as a matter of sentimentalization emerged. This conceptualization is considered the most significant theoretical contribution of this study. The result also reveals how the emotional phase involves the preservice teachers´ entire body, their thinking and reflection, closely related to the way they view themselves and the world around them. Based on the results implications for future teacher education will be discussed.