Occupational alienation and its dependents among teachers; A sociological study of the lived experience of teachers in Tehran

Document Type : .

Authors

1 Ph.D. student in Sociology of Social Development – Rural, Department of Social Development Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran.

2 Associate research professor of Sociology, Department of Social Studies, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran.

3 Ph.D.Student in Sociology, social problems study of iran, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Study,Tehran,Iran

Abstract

From the perspective of organizational sociology, few field researchers have investigated the lived experience of teachers in the formal education organization as a modern organization. The current research was conducted with the qualitative approach to study the situation of alienation formation among teachers. Therefore, it will be a basis for policy-making in order to reduce the dependent factors of alienation among teachers. In this regard, interviews were conducted with 13 teachers working in primary and secondary schools in Tehran. The analysis of the study data and the constructed "theoretical model" show that: the causal conditions "impossibility of organizational participation", "lack of professional specialization", "lack of social/organizational support", "lack of feeling of professional competence" and "Financial dissatisfaction" has brought about the phenomenon of "occupational alienation" among teachers. In this situation, it seems that teachers encounter the phenomenon of occupational alienation by adopting the strategies of "implementation of efficient rules", "pragmatic activism", and "satisfaction discourse". The outcomes of taking these strategies for the studied teachers were "the depletion of the teacher's scientific activity" "learned indifference" and "relying on the interactions of colleagues".
 
Keywords: Job alienation, Lack of organizational participation, Lack of professional specialization, Financial dissatisfaction, qualitative approach
 
 
 
 
 
 
Introduction
Recent findings show that teachers, as the main actors of the educational institution, are the most significant variable in students' learning. In other words, the functions of the education system are based on the motivated, capable, and powerful teacher as the main agent of this system. Due to such substantial role of teachers, researchers have considered internal and external factors affecting teachers' performance as the subject of research. The lived experiences of a large number of teachers have expressed stress and exhaustion.
As a result, teacher exhaustion has been one of the topics that attracted many educational researchers during the last decades, until recently, positive psychology introduced the concept of job passion in relation to teachers' efficiency. Achieving the functions of education and training requires creativity, dynamism and non-stationarity of this organization and its main agents, i.e. teachers. Reviewing previous research and the opinions of experts have shown that the education system in Iran has faced many challenges: Lack of motivation, lack of job belongingness and financial dissatisfaction have always been introduced as factors affecting the dysfunctions of this system.
 
Goals
From the perspective of organizational sociology, few field researchers have investigated the lived experience of teachers in the formal education organization as a modern organization. The current research was conducted with the qualitative approach to study the situation of alienation formation among teachers. Therefore, it will be a basis for policy-making in order to reduce the dependent factors of alienation among teachers.
 
Methodology
In qualitative research, the following methods were used;
- "Documentary analysis" for reviewing previous research.
- "grounded theory method" for analyzing qualitative data and generating paradigm models and theories. To do so interviews were conducted with 13 teachers working in primary and secondary schools in Tehran.
 
Findings
The analysis of the study data and the constructed "theoretical model" show that: the causal conditions "impossibility of organizational participation", "lack of professional specialization", "lack of social/organizational support", "lack of feeling of professional competence" and "Financial dissatisfaction" has brought about the phenomenon of "occupational alienation" among teachers. In this situation, it seems that teachers encounter the phenomenon of occupational alienation by adopting the strategies of "implementation of efficient rules", "pragmatic activism", and "satisfaction discourse". The outcomes of taking these strategies for the studied teachers were "the depletion of the teacher's scientific activity" "learned indifference" and "relying on the interactions of colleagues".
 
 
Conclusions
Regarding the findings, it is concluded that the Education System is an organization that has strongly led to the formation of alienated teachers. Internal and external factors have played a role in creating such conditions. Non-participation, lack of support, and predominance of entrance exams to university as a goal of education and training (instead of creativity and learning life skills etc) have been the most important causes within the organization. The media and the multiplicity and interference of identity sources in society have been among the external factors effective in this job alienation.
 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Afrasiabi, Hossein. Madahi, Javad( 2016 ). How leisure time contributes to smoking addiction among students and its underlying reasons. Welfare and Social Development Quarterly. Volume7. Number 16. 179-216. [in Persian]
Afrasiabi, Hossein; Jamshidi, Behnam; quodrati, Hossein(2013). The study examined the relationship between employee participation alienation and job satisfaction at Fars Regional Electricity Company. Applied Sociology Quarterly, Volume 24, Number 1.176-190. [in Persian]
Albert, A, & Kormos, J. (2011). Creativity and narrative task performance: An exploratory study. Journal of Research in Language Studies, , Volume 61.Number 73–99.
 
Aminah, Ahmad. (1997), Work-Family Conflict and Social Support, Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities. Volume5. Number93-101
 
Aubo, Caroline, (2007). Perceived organizational support and organizational commitment: The moderating effect of locus of control and work autonomy. Journal of Managerial Psychology, Volume 22, Number 484.
 
Corbin,Julit&Anselm, Strauss(1990). Basic of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory
 
Coser, Louis(2020). The life and thought of great sociologists. translated by  Mohsen Tholasi. Tehran.Elmi Publications. [in Persian]
Craib, Ian(2017). Modern social theory. translated by Abbas Mokhbar.Tehtan, Agah Publications. [in Persian]
 
Dua'i, Habibullah; Borjali, Shahla(2010) Investigating the relationship between perceived organizational support and organizational commitment and intention to quit.Public Administration Perspective Quarterly. Volume1, Number3.67-77. [in Persian]
 
 
Fakuhi, Naser(1999). Political violence. Tehran. Gatreh Publications. [in Persian]
Fromm, Eric(2016). Man for Himself: An Inquiry Into the Psychology of Ethics. translated by Akbar Tabrizi. Tabriz,behjat Publications. [in Persian]
 
Funk, Rainer(2016). Eric Fromm: The Courage of Being Human. translated by Tahereh Mohammad Alizadeh. Tehran. Asheiyan Publications. [in Persian]
 
Guderzond Chegini, Noyan Ashraf and Alavi Saeb(2014).factors influencing work alienation, Relationships, Solution. journal of a new approach in educational management. , Volume5. Number1.55-80. [in Persian]
Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory, Journal of Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. Volume 16. Number 250-279
 
Iman, Mohammad Taghi; Moradi, Ali(2017). Case study: The impact of social alienation on social responsibility among Kermanshah Oil Company employees. Applied Sociology Quarterly, Volume28, Number3.123-152. [in Persian]
 
Iman, Mohammad Taghi; Jalaian, Wajiheh(2010). Analyzing and clarifying the correlation between social responsibility and social capital in the youth population. Applied Sociology Quarterly, Volume 21, Number 19-42. [in Persian]
Kalleberg, Arne & Olsen,karen (2009), “Is Participation Good or Bad for Workers? Effects of Autonomy, Consultation and Teamwork on Stress Among Workers in Norway. journal of Acta Sociologica. Volume52. Number99-116.
 
Kartal, Nazan. (2018). Evaluating the relationship between work engagement, work alienation and work performance of healthcare professionals. International Journal of
Healthcare Management. Volume 11. Number 251-259.
 
 
Lehsaizadeh, Abdul Ali; Mansourian, Karim(1999). Examining job satisfaction about social, economic, and demographic factors. Social science letter Quarterly. Volume13. Number161-188. [in Persian]
 
Levinson, D & Cookson, W & Sadovnik ,A(2002) , Education and sociology: an
Encyclopedia. Pablished by Routledge
 
Marshall, Kathryn, Resman, Gretchen(1998). Qualitative research methods .translated by Ali Parsaian
 And Mohammad Arabi.Tehran. daftar pajoohesh farhangi Publications . [in Persian]
 
Marx, Karl(1999). Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. translated by  Hassan Mortazavi. Tehran.  Agah Publications. [in Persian]
Miri, Sidjavad. Khorminejad, Mehranosh(2019). Critical review of educational policies in contemporary Iran.Tehran. nagde farhang Publications. [in Persian]
 
 
Mousavi, Seyed Kamal. Heydarpourmand, Sakineh(2015). The mystery of alienation in social thought. shahed Publications. [in Persian]
Mohseni Tabrizi(1994). alienation; An obstacle to participation and development.Communication culture studies Quarterly. Volume1. Number.89-110. [in Persian]
 
 
Rastegar, Khaled. Kaveh, Mehdi(2014). Investigating sociological factors affecting job alination.social studies and reserch in iran Quarterly. Volume2, Number3.439-467. [in Persian]
Tavasoli, Gholam Abbas(1996). Sociology of work and occupation.first edition.Tehran:samt Publications. [in Persian]
Vahida, Fereydoun. Hagigatian, Mansour. Bazmi, Mahnaz(2014).Sociological Assessment of Job Alienation and its Impact on Organization Culture in Education Organization(the Case of Educational Staff in Mashhad). Applied Sociology Quarterly, Volume25. Number2. 1-14. [in Persian
 
Weber, Max(1995). Economy and society. translated by A group of translators.Tehran. Mulla Publications. [in Persian]
 
Zhang, X,& Bartol, K. (2010). Linking empowering leadership and intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy of Management Journal. Volume 53. Number 107–28
Sociological Cultural Studies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 06 January 2024

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics