an examination of beginning teachers’ self-presentation styles and strategies

An Examination of

Beginning Teachers’ Self-

Presentation Styles and

Strategies

Hayuta Yinon

Faculty of Education, University of

Haifa

Israel

•Goffman claims that we

always act in front of others

in order to make sure that

they will get a desirable

impression about us.

Image source: http://sha3teely.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/cartoon-mahjoob.png

• impression management or self-presentation strategies

•the ways by which we attempt to control the impressions of others about us

=

Schütz’s taxonomy of self-presentation styles

•Four styles of self-presentation:

Assertive

Offensive

Protective

defensive

The assertive style

• people try to look good by presenting a favorable image of themselves.

• Common strategies: ingratiation, exemplification and self-promotion.

Video: Hillary Clinton “I’m your girl” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V9JBItfTZI

The offensive style

•people try to look good by making others look bad.

•Common strategies: criticizing and making ironic statements.

Video: Michell Obama takes a shot at Hillary Clinton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN1qZMBE9Gc

The protective style

• people try not to look bad by avoiding the conveyance of negative impressions.

• Common strategies: avoiding public attention, minimal self-disclosure

and a passive interaction.

Video: Sarkozy walks out…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkapbaK32PM

The defensive style

•people try not to look bad by fighting off negative typifications.

•Common strategies: denial, justification and making excuses.

Video: Bill Clinton “That Woman” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5GDrYiK02U

Uniqueness of the research

• Filling a gap in the literature: impression management styles and strategies have only few applications in educational research and in teacher education.

• It is important to examine how teachers operate impression management mechanism.

• Opening a window into their inner cognitive world, to which research has only a limited access.

Research questions

1) What impressions interns make through their self-reported cases?

2) How do interns construct those impressions?

Research context

Internship period in Israel

At school At the university

Mentor Group workshop

ParticipantsX 51

Workshop 1 :17 interns

Workshop 2 :17 interns

Workshop 3 :17 interns

Beginning teachers

Background details• Gender - 37 women, 14 men.• Sector – 26 Arabs, 25 Jewish.• Teaching level – 21 high-school teachers, 14

elementary school teachers, 7 middle-school teachers, 7 middle & high-school teachers, 2 other.

• Subject-matter – 19 language teachers, 9 special education teachers, 7 humanistic studies teachers, 6 environmental studies teachers, 4 exact sciences teachers, 6 other.

Data collection

• Written detailed description of an event

or a dilemma, which the interns were

concerned about, and for which they

needed the group’s support.

• Running of a virtual forum regarding the

case throughout the year.

2 cases 9 cases

9 cases 8 cases 11 cases 3 cases

6 cases 2 cases

Data analysis

Qualitative content analysis in stages:

• Stage 1: Identifying what kinds of impressions the interns made through their case descriptions.

• Stage 2: Sorting the descriptions of the cases into Schütz's four self-presentation styles, and to their sub-categories .

• Stage 3: determining the frequency of each style and strategy, and examining the relationships between styles and strategies.

Initial findings

• Interns used all Schütz's four self-presentation styles, with the protective style being used less dominantly.

• Interns usually used a combination of a few self-presentation styles.

• Interns used the cases to present themselves as competent and serious teachers, as well as to encourage the group to support them.

Illustration: Shiraz’s case (pseudonym)

A competent and serious teacher

• Offensive self-presentation: making the class look bad (in general)

Background details: a major subject, a final exam is coming up this year, not a very strong class.

Favorable conditions for learning: only 17 pupils in the class, a private school.

Explicit Statement: unawareness of the need to invest a lot in the major subject.

Strengthening the statement by giving examples: constant complains about homework, about the amount of material required to study, and about lack of time.

• Offensive self-presentation: making the class look bad (the exam)

Complains about scheduling an exam.Trying to avoid the exam by approaching

the homeroom teacher.

The pupils actions while handing out the exam: only two pupils took the exam.

The pupils actions the day before: planning not to take the exam by phone calls and MSN.

• Assertive self-presentation: building a favorable image of Shiraz

Mentioning that she has no serious discipline problems with the class.

Shiraz’s actions in response to the pupils' complaint: narrowing down the material to only two chapters; rescheduling the exam.

Shiraz’s response to the homeroom request: no apologies and giving in, standing up for herself and explaining the situation.

Consultation with the subject-matter coordinator.

Shiraz’s actions while realizing most of the pupils didn’t take the exam: investigation of the case and coming back with results.

• Defensive self-presentation: everyone is backing me up

The subject-matter coordinator perceives the same problem concerning this class.

The homeroom teacher left the decision whether to postpone the exam or not to her and also informed the pupils of it.

The subject-matter coordinator's response for the situation: asking Shiraz not to postpone the exam.

In sum

Shiraz succeeds in establishing the

impression that she is competent and

serious by using offensive, assertive

and defensive self-presentations.

Discussion

• Interns made an impression of competence through their self-presentations.

• This impression is well associated with a novice state, which is characterized by a tendency to be concerned about how other people see them as teachers.

• The study exhibits the potential of using self-presentation styles and strategies for beginning teachers’ research:

A possible explanation for the almost 50% attrition rate of beginning teachers from the profession throughout the first five years of teaching.

• The study also exhibits the potential of using self-presentation styles and strategies for improving beginning teachers’ practice:

Introducing self-presentation styles and strategies to teachers as an interpretive lens for analyzing their own practice ---> teachers can learn to manage the impressions they make, and perform accordingly.

References

• Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Doubleday Anchor Books, New York.

• Schütz, A. (1998). Assertive, Offensive, Protective, and Defensive Styles of Self-Presentation: A Taxonomy. The Journal of Psychology, Vol. 132, No. 6, pp. 611-628.