İLKOKUL ÖĞRETMENLERİNİN DUYGUSAL EMEK DAVRANIŞLARI ÜZERİNE NİTEL BİR ARAŞTIRMA
The purpose of this study is to examine teachers’ views on emotional labor. The research’s study group used phenomenological design which is one of the qualitative research designs and composed of 15 teachers who work at primary schools in Gaziantep in the 2017-2018 academic year. Data was collected through semi-structured interview forms. Descriptive analysis and content analysis were used in the analysis of the data and the interrater level of agreement based on the ratings of researchers was calculated as 0.91. As a result of the research, it was determined that teachers displayed emotional labor behaviors at schools. The views of teachers on emotional labor are grouped under three sub-themes; “surface acting”, “deep acting“ and “natural emotions”. In the surface acting sub-theme, teacher views are as follows: reflecting emotions by managing them, displaying different emotions based on the circumstances and displaying superficial emotions. The views on the deep acting sub-theme are expressed in the following order: demonstrating extra effort while displaying emotions, not reflecting the negative emotions (anxiety, fear, etc.) and hiding the true emotions. For the natural emotions sub-theme, teachers expressed the following views: assuming a calm attitude and displaying genuine (natural) emotions. It was concluded that teachers expressed their feelings in different ways according to the situation they’re in or depending on the person that they’re communicating with (student, teacher, parent). It was also determined that they engaged more in deep acting, which requires an extra effort in displaying emotions, and also in displaying natural emotions, where the emotions that are felt are displayed naturally (genuinely) with no need for any extra effort. Teachers can be provided with training on management of emotions so that they can accurately express their feelings and reflect their emotions by managing them based on the situation that they are in.

Keywords
Primary school, teacher, emotional labor.