Doctoral dissertation analysed the stories of teachers’ professional lives in terms of their social mindset.

“I studied the ways teachers adapt and function in the context of society's values,” introduces Mare Sadam her research work, “the topic is important because there are always advocacy groups with contrasting values in society who have different expectations regarding the education provided to the new generation.” In her dissertation, Sadam portrayed ten teachers based on their interviews. She conducted the analyses based on the life-history method, which enables a deep understanding of both social and individual life.

“Both teachers and students can find recognisable experiences in these portrayed stories, since the lives of many Estonians are similarly affected by the socio-historical situation of the studied period,” says Sadam. The earliest of the portrayals is based on the professional life of a teacher born in the 1920s and the latest was born in the 1990s. In the stories, one can read about how a person whose family was declared a kulak, became a teacher in a socialist society or how a teacher who actively participated in communist organisations in their youth, functions in the newly independent Estonian society. In addition, stories of a teacher who follows traditional values in a liberal society or a teacher who tries to establish caring relationships with students in a large, impersonal school, invite one to think along.

The results of the doctoral dissertation reveal that if the values of the teacher do not coincide with the values of society or coincide only partially, then the values of society are applied in a changed form, i.e. they are refracted. Previous research on social refraction has shown that change initiatives or ideologies transform as they are implemented at different levels in society. “The results of my research indicate that the core values of teachers are possible reasons for the transformation of change initiatives, because while the stories of teachers' professional lives do reflect the values of society, the teachers themselves do not shape their principles in accordance with the societal values,” explains Sadam. “Teachers adapt to society's values and continue to follow their own as much as possible.”

The adapting of representatives of the education field to society's values and their functioning in that context is more versatile than just resistance or support of the ruling ideology. In this study, Sadam found more versatile ways of adapting to and acting on ideologies in the stories of teachers' professional lives.

“With my doctoral dissertation, I encourage people to respect teachers who work within a multiplicity of values within societal groups in every period of history,” says Sadam. “In Estonia, this means rethinking the negative image that has spread about teachers with Soviet experience in the post-independence period. In fact, many of these teachers have tried to reduce the impact of formal requirements on students by indirect means during difficult times. Teachers' reticence and cautious attitude towards new initiatives can often have really compelling reasons.”

The research showed that if a teacher is aware of society’s ideology, they can choose whether to go along with the ideology or try to make a change. It also turned out that teachers do not automatically accept the norms of society without criticism. “That confirms the expertise and professionalism of teachers. The results are also important for understanding that the working life of teachers is closely linked to their holistic biography. The work of a teacher cannot be separated from their life experiences,” Sadam sums up her dissertation.

Mare Sadam from Tallinn University School of Educational Sciences defended her doctoral dissertation called “Refraction of Societal Values in the Estonian Teachers Work Life Narratives: A Life History Research” on 28 September. Her supervisors were Tallinn University associate professor Larissa Jõgi, senior researcher Rain Mikser and Brighton University professor Ivor Goodson. Opponents were University of Tartu professor Veronika Kalmus and Tallinn University researcher Maria Erss. 

The doctoral thesis is available in Tallinn University Digital Library ETERA.