Teachers’ Emotional Labor in the Context of New College Entrance Exam Reform in Mainland China

Abstract

This study was designed as an explorative qualitative study aiming to investigate Chinese high school teachers’ emotional labor when implementing policies related to the New College Entrance Exam (ncee). Findings are mainly generated from analysis of in-depth interviews. First, as a by-product of the ncee reform, disruptive changes in curricula and school management have brought about negative emotions on the part of teachers. The negative emotions led to teachers’ pessimist attitude towards the ongoing ncee reform. Second, teachers’ negative emotions were intentionally managed and controlled by themselves for different reasons. On the one hand, teachers inhibited negative feelings for building a compassionate climate in classroom teaching. On the other hand, teachers performed to be “emotional-free” in front of students’ parents and school managers. The study suggests that the intensified external institutional pressures, rather than changed classroom teaching, made teaching an alienated labor, depriving teachers’ sustainable commitment to the ncee reform.