Browsing by Subject "opettajakuva"

The aim of the research is to highlight the teacher images produced by teacher dis- course as part of the societal discussion during the 2022 teachers' strike. The starting point of my research is the tradition of social constructionism in language, where the language used reflects reality at the moment of use but also constructs reality. The research analyzes the teacher representations brought out by the discourses found in reader comments on strike news in Helsingin Sanomat. Additionally, I consider the societal discourses to which the teacher representations produced during the crisis are related. My research focuses on the image of teachers in a societal framework. I examine teaching from societal and social perspectives, revealing the values and attitudes associated with teachers and their work in relation to strike actions. The study is conducted as a qualitative study using discourse analysis methods. Data-driven content analysis was used to handle the material. The research material consisted of reader comments on four articles from Helsingin Sanomat. The analysis included a total of 107 reader comments. In the analysis of the data, the discourses produced five different representations of teachers, which are named descriptively according to the theme. The five representations formed were: Underappreciated Expert, Societal Influencer, Overworked Teacher, Powerless Actor, and Uneasonable Demander. The representations generally recognized the significant impact of teachers on societal well-being. The shadow of the strike produced negative discourse about teachers and their work. On the one hand, the purpose of the strike was understood in the discussion, but on the other hand, teachers were seen as privileged citizens with a vocation. When examining the meanings of the representations, the continuous negative publicity related to teachers in the media and its impact on the general image of teachers emerged. The attractiveness of the teaching profession is already on the decline, and bringing out the dark sides of the profession in a continuously negative light will not turn it around. Negative teacher speech affects the general image of teachers in society. This impacts the status of teachers, the expectations they face in their work, appreciation, and professional identity.