Mellan styrning och moral: Berättelser om ett lärarlag

Between governing and teachers’ morality. Narratives around a team of teachers

Earlier research on teacher teams has found that the dominant model for the governance of schools is a leadership dominated by a rational organization and an individual leadership model. It has also found that school managements interfere with teacher teams and their decisions. This study explores the tension between governance, in the context of the Swedish school system, and the moral principles of a teacher team. In an empirical study, a teacher team was followed at their weekly meetings. Inspired by Hannah Arendt’s political philosophy, parts of her theories of human action have been focused upon. Proceeding from the concept of ‘inter-est’, what principles are expressed in the actions of teachers in a team at the upper level of the nine year compulsory school?

In the narratives used to present the empirical findings, figuration, action and webs of relationships say something about the team and their cooperation. The teachers in the study sometimes worry that their task is not a worthwhile one. They are also concerned about their scope to respond to each student’s uniqueness. One principle manifested in the inter-est emerging from the stories is that the team are striving to do their best. At other times, the teachers protest by refusing to take responsibility, revealing a principle of mistrust of the management’s ideas on cooperation with parents. When teachers discuss a theme of war and peace, the principle emerging is that they want to enable each student to perform their best. The results illustrate how management and organization work against variation and diversity. The teachers are concerned with their honour as teachers and protest against the local authority by not accepting the task handed to them. When the team discuss their resources, too, the management denies them their right to decide. Being part of a teacher team also involves consideration of the goals of the school. The narratives about this team and their protest at the school management and local authority interfering with their task, contribute to a possible discussion about the responsibilities of teachers from a moral perspective. The results demonstrate that the local authority and management hinder the creativity, imagination and judgement of teachers through the precedence they give to procedural rules.