Apie mokytojų homunkulą, įsikūrusį mūsų mąstyme

LTStraipsnis skirtas mokytojo vaizdiniui, įsisavintam paties mokytojo, ir vaizdiniui, paplitusiam bendrabūvyje – pačių mokytojų požiūriu – bei šio vaizdinio įtakai mokytojo profesinei veiklai nagrinėti. Straipsnyje mokytojo vaizdinys suvokiamas ne kaip psichologinis, bet kaip sociologinis konstruktas, besiformuojantis dėl egzogeninių veiksnių. Manytina, kad egzistuoja aiškus žinojimas, kas yra „tikras mokytojas“, paplitę diskursai, detalizuojantys, koks turįs būti geras mokytojas, kaip jis turi elgtis, atrodyti, bei kas yra geras „mokytojavimas“. Analizuojama sociologo Z. Norkaus pasiūlyta sąvoka „sociologinis homunkulas“ ir pagal ją konstruojama nauja – mokytojo homunkulo – sąvoka. Ji pasitelkiama mokytojo suvokiniui, paplitusiam tiek pačių mokytojų savivokoje, tiek apskritai bendrabūvyje, įvardyti. Pasitelkiant naujajai švietimo sociologijai priskiriamus mokslininkų darbus, aiškinamasi, kokios priežastys formuoja mokytojų homunkulą ir kaip tai atsiliepia profesinei veiklai. Remiantis 2017–2018 m. atliktu empiriniu tyrimu (jame dalyvavo 16 mokytojų ir 5 mokyklų direktoriai) nagrinėjama, koks yra mokytojo Lietuvoje homunkulas, kaip jis konstruoja patį mokytoją kaip patyrimą bei kitų socialinių agentų lūkesčius ir reikalavimus mokytojui. Straipsnis baigiamas išvada, kad mokytojo homunkulas labai veikia mokytojų savivoką ir turi įtakos mokytojų laikysenai kitų socialinių agentų atžvilgiu bei pastarųjų laikysenai mokytojų atžvilgiu ir jų profesinei veiklai vertinti. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Homunkulas; Mokytojo homunkulas; Laukas; Kapitalas; Socialinis agentas; Homunculus; Teacher’s homunculus; Field; Capital; Social agent.

ENThere is a clear notion in society of what is a “real teacher”; there are many discourses describing in detail the kind of a teacher that is considered good, how one should look and behave, and what is good “teaching.” This knowledge did not come from a deep psychological recognition of the teachers or their personal traits; it is simply a constructed set of traits and behaviors that need to be mastered by a person striving to become a teacher. A teacher must match a teacher’s homunculus. This is a newly introduced notion in education sociology, constructed on the basis of the notion of a sociological homunculus, proposed by the sociologist Zenonas Norkus (1996). The teacher’s homunculus is described as a historically and virtuously formed sociological construct that universally describes the concept of a teacher rooted in the society – a standard of a sort, the meeting of which legitimizes a teacher’s work. The teacher’s homunculus rises as a common image that includes all teachers and combines their various practices; it blossoms in the mundane speech and is used as the standard of evaluation of the teachers’ work: “all teachers are the same”, “you know a teacher when you see one” etc. It also finds its way to the consciousness of the teachers themselves, like a screenplay of their professional work and behavior, like a role that has a historical tradition prescribed to them by society. How the image of a teacher – this homunculus – Is created in the consciousness of other social agents, how it pierces through to the teachers’ concepts of themselves – all of this was very widely analyzed by the representatives of the “new education sociology.” [...].Empirical research was carried out to analyze how all this appears in practice. This article presents the results of qualitative study carried out using the role-construction method. The research was carried out during 2017–2018; 21 informants, 16 teachers who used to or still are teaching in schools around Lithuania, and 5 principals took part in this research. Almost all participants admitted that “outside” forces have the most impact on the teachers’ concepts of themselves and their professional work. Research shows that a teacher feels as if unable to avoid being put under control, because the teacher is an easily recognizable homunculus and always feels the demand to be prepared for control and assessment by other agents in the environment. Most participants of the research noted that various social formations produce quite a negative image of the teacher. The teacher’s homunculus, developed by these formations, is very limited, tired and an unreliable executor. Speaking of the homunculus created by the social agents of the school field, it is obvious that it is constructed based on the traditional notion of a teacher. The school’s administration, the parents, the pupils, the universities and institutes of higher education that prepare the teachers and the teachers themselves – they all impact the construction of the teacher’s homunculus in the school field. The teachers seem to be sure that they can be teachers only when they meet the standards of the homunculus. These “standards” are brought to them by the authorities – the school’s administration or the principal, for example. The informants that took part in this study believe that a large segment of principals, parents and pupils do not respect the teachers, doubt their professionalism and competency to do their jobs properly; they limit the work opportunities of the teachers. The distrust in teachers presents itself as control.The teachers who participated in this study usually do not agree with the homunculus that is constructed by the outside environment or the school field’s agents. They – the teachers – see the teacher as a character full of many positive qualities. The study showed what kind of homunculus is characteristic to the concept of the self shared by the informants. The informants, describing themselves as teachers, enumerated various traits and abilities that, in their opinion, create what is characteristic of the teachers’ image. They also listed the necessary requirements for teachers’ looks and behavior. The informants revealed that they have differing relationships with the teacher’s homunculus. A homunculus hides within one’s consciousness. These roles become inherent, and the breaking away or the failure to perform them well enough evoke frustration, reproaches or sanctions by the society, by means of which that same society attempts to get rid of the “bad actor”. In conclusion, we can state that the teacher’s homunculus is widely spread in Lithuania; it has not only taken over our consciousness, but it also the dictates professional behavior of the teachers, the attitudes of others toward teachers and the evaluation of that behavior. The focus on the homunculus does not let us understand that the teachers’ positions and dispositions are created by structures as well as agents, both from the outside and the inside. [From the publication]

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