Genuine encounters at school

Eighth-grade pupils' experiences of encounters between a student and a teacher in the everyday life of a secondary school

Authors

• Heini Peltonen Itä-Suomen yliopisto
• Jaana Viljaranta Itä-Suomen Yliopisto
• Jenni Salminen Jyväskylän yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33350/ka.143836

Keywords:

dialogue, encounter, stundent and teacher relationship

Abstract

During the transition to seventh grade, students' encounters with teachers become more diverse, and the significance of individual encounters may be even more important than earlier. The aim of the study is to clarify students’ experiences of encounters between students and teachers in the everyday life of lower secondary school. The study is qualitative, and the data consists of interviews with 15 young people in eighth-grade. The data was analyzed with reflective thematic analysis. The first theme talks about students’ experiences of encountering teachers in everyday school life and what they expect from teachers in terms of encounters. The second theme describes the emotional experiences related to encounters, as well as the factors that enable and prevent encounters. The third theme sums up how the educational relationship between a student and a teacher is a premise for encounters. Based on the results, the teacher's work is seen as educational work, where creating a relationship with the student enables encounters and dialogue. The young people felt that the teacher was the responsible party in the encounters: the teacher's task is to support the student and create an opportunity for encounters. The young people expected teachers to meet them as individuals, but at the same time noted that only some teachers do this in everyday school life.