Connecting the dots: Teachers’ contradictions, cognition, emotions and professional responses

Abstract

Previous researchers have promulgated educational contradictions, emotional experiences and responses as significant factors influencing teachers’ well-being and professional development. However, in spite of an increasing body of research on these topics, researchers still lack a shared conceptual framework for understanding teacher learning process (Borg, 2006). A review of empirical studies regarding the connection between these factors was conducted to reveal their inter-relationships as well as to propose a unified conceptual framework to further enhance our understanding of teacher learning process. Extensive literature search was carried out on major journal databases with relevant papers extracted and analysed. Findings indicated that educational contradictions, emotions and professional responses are closely associated variables, the interplay among which results in teachers’ professional learning and development. When faced with educational conflicts, teachers tend to respond emotionally before engaging in cognitive acts. Compared to previous models, the newly proposed conceptual framework is believed to be more advantageous in that it takes into account all of the three concerned factors. Pedagogical implications for teacher training and support comprise raising teachers’ awareness of their own emotional and professional tensions as well as providing them with necessary resources to address the concerned conflicts. Further research is warranted to confirm the validity of the proposed framework and provide more evidence on how professional learning of teachers materialises.