How is fear visible in the power relations between pedagogical staff working in

Doing the research it was necessary and important for me as a researcher to gain information about how my informants perceived the terms fear and respect. The informants perceptions and experiences of fear included fear being an undesirable emotion, an emotion as a result of something unknown or different from oneself, an emotion in aggression, an emotion as result of a mistake, something natural inside, awe, something without love. Their definitions were closely related to the factors listed as findings related to research question one. The definition of fear presented in the theory chapter includes the different aspects revealed in the interviews and is therefore still valid studying the responses from the participants. Respect, as a phenomenon, was regarded as mandatory, learned, a result of love, voluntarily or simply a kind of acknowledgement without love. What is not included in the definition is the fact that some of the informants seemed to mix up the two terms, and some even stated that they depend on each other. In the following sub-chapter, a short summary of the findings related to how fear is visible within the power relations in school (RQ2) will be given. The findings were divided into four categories: family, communication, attitudes and perspectives as well as challenges.

Visibility: Family

Relations were often, both by the principals and the teachers, described using family terms.

The ray aman-dreny [parent] principle as a code of behavior early became visible in the data.

Fear and respect were visible in how the teachers and principals refer to one another. The complexity which follows such as the ‘family view’ of relations within a fellowship was visible when the principals and the teachers described how they view and relate to one another. The differences between the teachers and the principals in this case were due to their different positions. A teacher would call his/her principal a parent, while the principal would call the teacher a child. Furthermore, the findings gave insight into how respect is taught and established already at an early age. As a grown-up you may not even remember when you

97 learned this; it is just the way it should be. Moreover, the informants underscored the importance of giving a person above you the position s/he had the right to possess. Whether the respect includes some kind of fear is unclear. Some informants gave the impression that the two terms are mixed. In the findings we see that age and competence underscores how the ray aman-dreny [parent] expression includes different aspects, not just the parent- child relationship. Because of the different aspects, disagreements may arise. For instance, findings show that age tends to override competence, which does not always pass quietly. Some of the young teachers may have their education from teacher-school, while the elder teachers may have a long length of service, but not the academic background. This may cause disagreements and tension where fear and respect are highly present. This aspect was expressed by both groups.

Visibility: Communication

From the findings communication became a category and several aspects highlighting fear in the power relations appeared in different ways within this category. Findings show that both the teachers as well as the principals seem to fear the effect of using direct speech instead of indirect speech,- with the latter seen as culturally appropriate and accepted. A certain body language was also mentioned as a factor for showing respect. This was only mentioned by a principal speaking of the pupils, but was observed in the teacher-principal relationship as well. Fear and respect also became visible in the lack of communication. For example, this included when the teachers described how pupils remained silent in fear of being chastised or how the teachers remained silent themselves in fear of the pupils’ parents. The fact that there have been episodes where the Responsible of The Pedagogics tried to negotiate with the teachers to find temporary solutions, may also be seen as an indicator of the fear facing the principal, striving to avoid situations which were uncomfortable.

Findings further revealed reflections concerning cliques and gossip among the teachers and how this creates fear; the fear of being talked about without knowing it. As indirect speech is reckoned appropriate, a person being talked about might not even know it, as it is not stated directly and what is said indirectly may be difficult to understand. The fact that some schools need to make use of letters as a way to communicate, instead of speaking directly in meetings, may be an indicator of how communication in power relations is influenced by fear. Some of the teachers clearly stated that the communication flows from the top of the hierarchy

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downwards. Other teachers underlined how communication and cooperation is respectful based on different positions with fear not part of their relationships. Several of the principals mentioned how it is important to talk calmly to the teachers to create a safe platform where teachers can feel comfortable speaking up. Some teachers did seem to value the principals’

decisions as always right and equal to civil rights and law. This fear of communication in cliques or being left alone is not part of the principals’ reflections. What they mentioned is what mattered to levels higher up in the hierarchy. The principals did not say the relationships they have were filled with fear, but some mentioned that they were fine as long as things were in line with what the committees thought and meant. In other words, they did not explicitly say that fear is part of their relationships with those higher in the hierarchy. The quotes give an impression that the situation is slightly different when what they said is in contrast to what the level higher up in the hierarchy thought.

Visibility: Attitudes and perspectives

Findings related to attitudes and perspectives concerned only the teachers. Responses related to this create a picture of what the teachers believe that the principals fear. According to the teachers, the principals feared that someone would take their position. One of the responsible of pedagogics further expressed that gaining more power and being promoted was a teacher’s biggest dream. It is therefore likely to believe that if a teacher dreams about a position, it would naturally mean that they believed that the principal could be fearful of their [the teacher’s] power if it increased. The teachers’ awareness about their position was further expressed when they told me that they saw themselves in position below the principals and above the pupils. Related to what was mentioned in the previous paragraph concerning gossip and cliques was the everlasting fear of being left alone if you dared to speak up at meetings.

Despite the fact that colleagues have said they share a point of view and will support each other, they do not dare to speak against the principal. According to one of the informants, they benefit from the situation instead by lacking the dissatisfaction that they have been entrusted by with their colleagues to the principal behind the colleague’s back. Finally, we see from the findings that fear was visible in the power relations by the term tsiny [guilt]. In the context chapter it is made clear that tsiny [guilt] is something a Malagasy would try to avoid. When the teachers described how some parents might make them feel tsiny [guilt], it is likely to believe that it is something they feared. This was supported by the findings which showed that teachers to some extent did fear the parents and their reactions. However, one teacher even

99 stated that s/he may give himself/herself the tsiny [guilt] as a result of not fulfilling what s/he sees as her/his duties.

Visibility, challenges

In the findings we see that there are certain challenges related to the different aspects of communication. Alcohol was mentioned in particular. The fact that parents, or even pupils, may drink some alcohol before meeting the teachers indicated fear and unsureness. However, keeping in mind that one may regard a teacher as a ray aman-dreny [parent] within his/her field makes it quite incredible that the parents and/or pupils chose to meet a teacher after consuming alcohol. Though, maybe this indicates the authority and power the parents feel the teachers have in the domain of the school. The principals did not mention this. Furthermore, emotions related to the role of being an educator were mentioned; in the respect teachers showed towards the position that they possessed. The third challenge mentioned was that it may be complicated to have parents as your colleagues.