1. " We have been taken away from our own reward": the moral sources of teacher dissatisfaction -- 2. "We should all be so embarrassed": distinguishing demoralization from burnout -- 3. "They're suffering and they're struggling": sources of demoralization: causing harm to students -- 4. "I'm admitting to being disingenuous in my craft": sources of demoralization: degrading the profession -- 5. "I can't be that kind of teacher": re-moralizing strategies for career longevity -- 6. School leaders: sources of demoralization and re-moralization -- 7. Teacher unions: sources of demoralization and re-moralization -- 8. Harnessing the power of re-moralization.
Summary:
Doris Santoro theorizes the existence of a "moral center" that can be pivotal in guiding demoralized teachers and teacher actions and expectations on the job -- Provided by publisher. Demoralized: Why Teachers Leave the Profession They Love and How They Can Stay offers a timely analysis of professional dissatisfaction that challenges the common explanation of burnout. Featuring the voices of educators, the book offers concrete lessons for practitioners, school leaders, and policy makers on how to think more strategically to retain experienced teachers and make a difference in the lives of students. Based on ten years of research and interviews with practitioners across the United States, the book theorizes the existence of a "moral center" that can be pivotal in guiding teacher actions and expectations on the job. Education philosopher Doris A. Santoro argues that demoralization offers a more precise diagnosis that is born out of ongoing value conflicts with pedagogical policies, reform mandates, and school practices. Demoralized reveals that this condition is reversible when educators are able to tap into authentic professional communities and shows that individuals can help themselves. Detailed stories from veteran educators are included to illustrate the variety of contexts in which demoralization can occur. Based on these insights, Santoro offers an array of recommendations and promising strategies for how school leaders, union leaders, teacher groups, and individual practitioners can enact and support "re-moralization" by working to change the conditions leading to demoralization. -- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.