Emotion work in Time-out schools

Abstract

From a sociological perspective, the topic of emotion in schools has been a rather neglected issue. In this article, we present two types of emotion work, namely degradation work and rectification work. We describe how teachers in a special education programme called Time-out class employ feelings to get the work done efficiently. Drawing on an ethnographic study, we present data from field research in two Time-out classes in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Last, we will discuss findings with regard to current educational reforms in the Swiss educational field.