Narrating the Client: How stories of parental influence impact teacher professionalism

Abstract

Abstract This article examines how teachers engage in symbolic institutional work to address client influence, and how this impacts teacher professionalism. The study delves into an intriguing empirical field, using the Swedish school system as an illustrative case for studying the development of professionalism within a highly marketized context. The research employed interviews, observations, and shadowing, enabling a deeper understanding of the symbolic institutional work in a complex institutional environment where market and professional logic collide. The findings demonstrate how teachers utilize a narrative of a threatening and demanding client, which helps them distance themselves from market logic and resist adapting to it in their professionalism. However, there are also indications of a different narrative, where some teachers embrace and integrate client influence as a natural part of their professionalism. Additionally, there is also a form of ambivalence, where teachers are moving between different narratives. By investigating how professionals engage in these narratives, the article provides insights into understudied dimensions within the concept of professionalism. While the existence of different narratives highlights the complexity and fragility of institutional work, the inclination towards distancing from clients illustrates a preservation of traditional professionalism rather than a shift towards the ‘new professionalism’ described in previous literature.