Teacher Power Bases

There are four identified types of power that teachers as social agents may use to influence student behaviour.

Figure 1.3 – POINTS OF POWER - There are five bases of power which a teacher can exert over a student. These bases of power are: Referent power, Expert power, Legitimate power, Coercive power and Reward power.

Referent Power When a teacher has referent power students behave as the teacher wishes because they like the teacher as a person. There are two requirements for the effective use of referent power: teachers must perceive that the students like them and teachers must communicate that they care about and like the students.

Expert Power When a teacher has expert power students behave as the teacher wishes because they view that teacher as someone who is good and knowledgeable and who can help them to learn. The student must believe the teacher has both special knowledge and the teaching skills to help them acquire that knowledge.

Legitimate Power
The teacher who seeks to influence students through legitimate power expects students to behave appropriately because the teacher has the legal and formal authority for maintaining appropriate behaviour in the classroom. The teacher must demonstrate through their behaviour that they accept the responsibilities as well as the power inherent in the role of the teacher.

Reward/ Coercive Power Reward/ Coercive is based on the behavioural notions of learning, they both foster teacher control over student behaviour and they are both governed by the same principles of application. There are several requirements for the effective use of this power base. The teacher must be consistent in assigning and withholding rewards and punishment. The teacher must ensure that students see the connection between their behaviour and the reward or punishment. The rewards or punishments actually must be perceived as rewards or punishment by the student.

What Are The Challenges of Teaching?

Like all professions, teaching has undesirable or difficult aspects.

Classroom Management and Increasing Violence.
· Lack of discipline would be the most important problem facing the schools in Public Schools. Fighting, violence and gangs are the most important aspect as well as increased crime and violence. In addition many schools have high teacher student ratios which can make classroom management more difficult.

Social Problems That Impact Students.
· Many social problems affect the lives and learning of many children and youth such as substance abuse, teen pregnancy, homelessness, poverty, family distress, child abuse and neglect, violence and crime, suicide and health problems such as HIV/AIDS and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Figure 1.2- There are several challenges that teachers will face once they have entered the profession. The two most common challenges are classroom management and violence that may arise from different social problems. These obstacles can be overcome with thorough strategic planning. Three important ways to overcome these challenges are through classroom management, rules & routines, and time management.

Why Do Teacher's Enter This Profession?

Reasons For Teaching
For some the desire to teach emerges early and is nurtured by positive experiences with teachers during the formative years of childhood. For others teaching is seen as a way of making a significant contribution to the world and experiencing the joy and helping others grow and develop. For others life as a teacher is attractive because it is exciting varied and stimulating.

Figure 1.1 – Based on the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) Workplace Survey (2001), indicates that the most important factor influencing teachers’ choice of profession is related to the love of helping and working with children.

Love Helping and Working with Children
· The day to day interactions between teachers and students build strong bonds. Daily contact also enables teachers to become familiar with the personal as well as the academic needs of their students and this concern for student’s welfare and growth outweighs the difficulties and frustrations of teaching.

Love of Children
· Teachers want to make a difference in students’ live and have significant rewards when they meet the needs of the children. They appreciate their unique qualities and enjoy their liveliness, curiosity, freshness, openness and idealism.

Desire to help develop and motivate children
· Many choose to teach because they want to serve others; they want the results of their labour to extend beyond themselves and their families.

Love of Teaching
· The most important factor influencing their decision is that they love helping and working with children. Not only do teacher love teaching but they also find it satisfying. They have a love of the subject, a love of the teaching life and a love of the teaching learning process

Case Study - Referent Power

Scenerio


REASON FOR TEACHING - The desire to work with children and young people

THE CHALLENGES OF TEACHING -Classroom Management and Increasing Violence

TEACHER POWER BASES - Referent and Legitimate Power


Marcy is a recent graduate with limited experience and extreme anxiety about her classroom management skills. To Marcy’s surprise she has been asked to take an occasional teaching job at an alternative school and juvenile detention center called New Beginnings.


Marcy remembered why she decided to get into teaching in the first place; due to her love of children. Marcy enjoys creating different learning strategies for every student she teaches. It is the learning process that excites and motivates her to teach. Marcy enjoys the spontaneity of the classroom setting, which makes her think on her feet and solve new conflicts.


Just after lunch on the second day Marcy is informed that there will be a new student joining the class. The new student has a reputation for misbehaving. The student’s reputation was true. The student demonstrated a lack of discipline. The student continually fought with his classmates and informed the other students that he was in a gang.


Marcy started the next day by outlining the rules and consequences of the classroom.
Marcy pulled the troubled student aside to discuss how she could be of help to him. The students then gained respect for Marcy lessoned his acting out.

This is Referent Power