Emotionally Speaking: Teaching Students Socially Constructed as At-Risk in the US and Denmark

In this presentation, we demonstrate how qualitative methods help us to explore barriers and facilitators to teacher emotional well-being in school settings serving students identified as being at-risk in the US and Denmark. Through a hermeneutical lens (Gadamer, 2004) and collective narrative (Richardson, 1987), we begin by identifying each country_s educational model, teacher preparation and teacher support for serving at-risk students. Next, we explore the experience of teachers working with students defined as being at-risk. Inspired by the concept of emotional labor (Hochschild, 1983) we explore how the teachers manage to balance investing hope and belief in the students parallel with moments of despair, disappointment, powerlessness. How is the experience of teaching the same and different across these two countries? In what ways do these teachers view themselves, their students, and their relationships with colleagues and students? Finally, what can the two groups of teachers learn from each others_ experiences?