What are teachers’ experiences with child poverty?

Focusing on how we talk about “learning”

Abstract

To gain insights into how learning about social issues can be viewed in teacher education, this study analyzes the narratives of those who have been involved in poverty issues prior to their teaching careers. Among social problems, the issue of “child poverty” has attracted significant attention in recent years. Teachers have been positioned as an important entity responsible for the inclusion of poverty. Therefore, teacher education has highlighted the necessity for teachers to learn about “poverty.” However, previous studies have seldom clarified what kind of meaningful experience learning about “poverty” in teacher training and education has after becoming a teacher. As an advanced case study, we analyze interview data from teachers who have experienced volunteer work in poverty. From an analytical perspective, we adopted ethnomethodology, which means that the analysis is conducted in line with the teacher’s narrative, rather than projecting the researcher’s framework. The analysis focused on two points: teachers’ operationalization of the concept of poverty and their narratives of “learning.” The analysis revealed that the teacher’s narrative of the “learning” of poverty is told through the “identification” of poverty and the “transformation” of the self of “knowing” poverty. The “transformation” of the self also includes the “transformation” of one’s own action of caring for the “environment” of children. Such a narrative of “learning” is a method used to achieve moral order as a teacher. On the other hand, the achievement of moral order as an individual was highlighted, and indicated the need to reconsider the linkage between teachers’ professional norms and “the social.” The outline of this study is as follows. First, after organizing previous studies in Japan and abroad, we examine the analytical framework for capturing teachers’ experiences. The details of the object of analysis are then described. The results of analyzing how learning about poverty is talked about and how the experience of such learning is discussed in relation to the teaching profession are presented. Finally, the findings are summarized and their significance discussed.