(Person) Percentage - Sabanci University Research Database

The Asian Media & Mass Communication Conference 2010 Osaka, Japan
Japanese teachers who did not follow the order were given warnings from their local education
boards. An extreme example of emotional labor display occurred in 1998 when a high school
principal in Hiroshima committed suicide after he was unable to resolve a conflict between the
board of education, which had ordered him to force the school to sing Kimigayo, and his
teachers, who were adamantly opposed.
In 2003, a new directive from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government added stricter punishments
for refusing to abide by the orders, including salary deductions and cancellation of rehiring
contracts. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has stated that the directive is based on the
curricula guidelines set by the central government to nurture students’ respect for the anthem and
flag. The government claims it is the obligation of teachers to instruct students, and that
performing as instructed does not implant any ideology. According to the Organization of
Reprimanded Teachers for the Retraction of the Unjust Punishment Involving Hinomaru &
Kimigayo, nearly 400 teachers have been reprimanded under the Tokyo directive since 2003
(Hongo, 2008).
Few would disagree that the typical educational system has all the elements associated with
emotion and stress: a bureaucratic structure, continuous evaluation of its processes and
outcomes, and increasingly intensive interpersonal interactions with students (and sometimes
their parents), colleagues, administrators, and the general public. In addition, student apathy,
salary/contract issues, budgetary constraints, expanding pressure from administrators, and an
increasingly negative public opinion about the perceived “easy life” of college teachers have
contributed to an embattled and embittered teacher force not only in America, but throughout the
world.
Because emotional labor “may involve enhancing, faking, or suppressing emotions to modify the
emotional expressions” when at work (Grandey, 2000), it is directly relevant to the experiences
of teachers. To what degree does emotional labor impact the performance of faculty who teach
mass media and English? And how does this impact the roles of writing instructors in the
organization-public relationship (OPR)? This paper discusses the findings of a 2009 pilot study
to investigate emotional labor experiences of college-level writing instructors and the effect of
emotional labor on their interactions with students and the institutions where they work.
The Pilot Study
For this pilot study, 250 college-level writing instructors of mass media and English courses
were emailed and asked to participate in an on-line survey that explored how writing instructors
address emotional labor issues and organizational expectations. The survey outlined what are
generally considered to be the causes, concerns, effects, perceptions, priorities, and coping
strategies regarding emotional labor as relates to writing instruction. The survey categories were
compiled based on feedback from informal focus groups with writing instructors, classroom
observations, a brief literature review, and conversations with writing instructors about the
challenges of diversity, globalization, and new technology.
The participants were selected from three groups: members of the Association for Education in
Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) public relations and newspaper divisions;
members of the National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research (NCTEAR);
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