A Qualitative Study Of Primary School Teachers’ Social Character

The social nature of people and the prescriptive nature of society together create the social character of people.Primary school teachers as a specific group form a commonality of psychological patterns in the process of professional participation.Their social character exists in the teachers’ working routine and flows in their spiritual world,which not only shapes the teachers’ real life but also has profound nurturing value.But for too long,we have neglected teachers’ attitudes and values while focusing on their teaching skills and professional development;we have neglected their inner world while focusing on their educational functions.Starting from a group of teachers,deeply depicting,portraying and showing the social character of primary school teachers can help promote teachers’ professional development and better play the social function of education.The social character of primary school teachers refers to the basic core of the character traits shared by the majority of primary school teachers in the current socio-cultural context,developed by a specific social group of primary school teachers as a result of similar professional culture and work practices,and characterised by ethical statutes,cultural concerns and educational exemplars.The social character of teachers projects their attitudes and behaviours,influencing not only the thinking and judgement of the teacher community,but also guiding the actual teaching work of teachers.Social character makes the image of primary school teachers more three-dimensional and complete,and is conducive to primary school teachers’ comprehensive understanding of themselves and their professional growth from a broader perspective,thus improving the quality of basic education and serving as a spiritual foundation for building an ideal society.This study adopts a qualitative research method,selecting Primary School S in Jinan as the field site for field investigation,and collecting research data through qualitative research means such as interviews,observations and physical analysis.The qualitative data obtained were collated and analysed by NVivo11 software,in an attempt to provide a detailed and dynamic description and presentation of the social character of primary school teachers at a micro level.Based on the combs and analysis of qualitative data,it is concluded that the social character of primary school teachers has 71 character elements.Based on the social character theory,social interaction theory and trait factor theory of sociology and psychology,the social character of primary school teachers is divided into three levels according to the different degrees of interaction between human beings and the external world.At the level of cognitive interaction,they are the self-regulated contemplator and the moral example of love for the students and career;at the level of adjustment interaction,they are the anxious disoriented in the context of load reduction and empowerment and the humble submissive in the life of collective regulation;at the level of behavioural interaction,they are the unified body of active and detached negativity and the rigorous and responsible executor.The social character of primary school teachers is the result of the interaction of many factors: teachers’ own character conditions,values and professional perceptions are the basis of formation;the professional-specific work content,the objects of interaction and the environment in which they practice are the realistic conditions;the historical lineage,prosperity and pluralism,and collective identity of social culture are the nurturing background;and the legitimate order,potential pressure and helpless confrontation of power constraints are the macro-regulation.The social character of primary school teachers,which is indifferent and detached,conservative and closed-minded,repressed and worried,needs to be further optimised.Through the self-modelling and collective-driven approach of teachers,we promote the integration of teachers;stimulate teachers’ thinking power with teacher communities,and inject developmental vitality into teachers;pay attention to teachers’ psychological health,and relieve teachers’ pressure from various aspects and levels,so as to achieve the gradual optimisation of primary school teachers’ social character.