Hargreaves, E; (2015) ‘I think it helps you better when you’re not scared’: fear and learning in the primary classroom. Curriculum, Pedagogy and Society , 23 (4) pp. 617-638. 10.1080/14681366.2015.1082077. (In press).

Preview

Text Hargreaves_i_think_it_helps_you_better.pdf Download (566kB) | Preview

Abstract

The research reported in this current paper explored in 2013 the classroom fear of two samples of UK primary school pupils (aged 7-8 and also 10-11 years old). The investigation was approached within a framework of critical theory, in which emancipatory aims were embraced. The authoritarian nature of most classrooms necessitates that teachers control pupils through coercion underpinning authoritarian pedagogy, whether through autocratic, parental or more democratic yet still authoritarian means. Such control by the teacher over many pupils makes transformational learning difficult, and fear is considered to be one important impediment to transformational learning. During four triangulated data collection activities including observation, children’s drawing, children’s sentence writing and interviews, I investigated children’s experiences of fear in their classrooms. Findings suggested that the authoritarian nature of their classrooms did provoke fears that were destructive to transformational learning. Ways of addressing fears and implications for future classrooms are suggested.

Download activity - last month

Export as CSVXMLJSON

Download activity - last 12 months

Export as CSVXMLJSON

Downloads by country - last 12 months

Export as CSVJSONXML

Archive Staff Only

View Item