TY - JOUR
T1 - Recognizing and Managing Countertransference in the College Classroom
T2 - An Exploration of Expert Teachers' Inner Experiences
AU - Slater, Rachel
AU - Veach, Patricia M
AU - Li, Ziqiu
PY - 2013/1/17
Y1 - 2013/1/17
N2 - Teacher countertransference refers to conscious and unconscious, negative or positive emotional reactions to certain students that arise from the teacher's own areas of personal conflict. Our investigation of 14 expert teachers' countertransference experiences in the college classroom, yielded several themes. Countertransference triggers included challenging behaviors (e. g., student disengagement from learning, hostility, manipulation). Countertransference reactions included frustration, the questioning of one's own judgment, and identification with students. Participants managed countertransference by seeking social support, maintaining their professionalism, thinking before responding, practicing self-reflection, building relationships with students, and drawing upon personal characteristics (values, empathy, conceptualization skills) and teaching experience. We suggest implications for teaching and recommendations for research.
AB - Teacher countertransference refers to conscious and unconscious, negative or positive emotional reactions to certain students that arise from the teacher's own areas of personal conflict. Our investigation of 14 expert teachers' countertransference experiences in the college classroom, yielded several themes. Countertransference triggers included challenging behaviors (e. g., student disengagement from learning, hostility, manipulation). Countertransference reactions included frustration, the questioning of one's own judgment, and identification with students. Participants managed countertransference by seeking social support, maintaining their professionalism, thinking before responding, practicing self-reflection, building relationships with students, and drawing upon personal characteristics (values, empathy, conceptualization skills) and teaching experience. We suggest implications for teaching and recommendations for research.
KW - College teachers
KW - Countertransference
KW - Emotional reactions
KW - Inner experiences
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84872175150&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84872175150&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10755-012-9221-4
DO - 10.1007/s10755-012-9221-4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84872175150
VL - 38
SP - 3
EP - 17
JO - Innovative Higher Education
JF - Innovative Higher Education
SN - 0742-5627
IS - 1
ER -