Teachers’ understandings of the anger they feel toward their principals: a phenomenographic study

Purpose The purpose of this study is to reveal the different ways in which a group of teachers understand the anger they feel toward the school principals with whom they interact. Design/methodology/approach The present study was designed and conducted as a phenomenography. In phenomenographic research, the number of different ways in which participants understand a particular phenomenon is revealed. The data from semi-structured interviews with 15 teachers who differed in terms of school level, gender and age were analyzed according to the phenomenographic tradition. Findings The analysis revealed that although the participants had eight different understandings of the anger in question, all participants had an understanding that was described as “An emotion arising from not being treated with the respect we deserve.” Practical implications The source of anger for the participating teachers was the behavior of their principals, which made them feel that they were not considered respectable and valuable. Incorporating this insight into the training of school leaders may lead to useful outcomes in improving the quality of interactions between principals and teachers. Originality/value As one of the few examples of phenomenographic research in educational management, the present study contributes to providing a solid foundation for exploring the anger that teachers feel toward their principals by showing how and in what ways participating teachers may understand this feeling.