Content of teachers' stereotypes about adolescents

Abstract

Discourse on 'problematic behavior' of the young in adolescence period is often present in lay, media, professional and scientific public. In this research, we performed empirical testing of the psychological concept of 'storm and stress', which is manifested by stereotypes about adolescents as rebels. The goal was to establish whether teachers hold stereotypes about younger adolescents as a social group and what the content of the stereotype is. Research participants were 193 teachers teaching the seventh grade in ten Belgrade primary schools. Factor analysis method established the presence of several factors, which reflect the psychological content and meaning of teachers' stereotypes about younger adolescents. The results of our research point out: (a) that stereotypes of teachers about younger adolescents stand in partial correspondence with the content of a widely distributed concept of 'storm and stress'; (b) that this concept is mostly loaded with a negative perception of pupils on the part of teachers and (c) that teachers less often perceive pupils through the prism of some positive qualities. That is, teachers think that these positive qualities are not 'typical' qualities of adolescents if they are observed as a group. Interviewed teachers hold stereotypes about younger adolescents, but intensity and valence of stereotypes vary depending on the nature of obtained factors.

Diskurs o 'problematičnom ponašanju' mladih u periodu adolescencije često je prisutan u laičkoj, medijskoj, stručnoj i naučnoj javnosti. U ovom istraživanju izvršena je empirijska provera psihološkog koncepta 'bure i stresa' koji se manifestuje posredstvom stereotipa o adolescentima kao buntovnicima. Cilj je bio da se utvrdi da li nastavnici poseduju stereotipe o mlađim adolescentima kao društvenoj grupi i kakav je sadržaj tog stereotipa. U istraživanju su učestvovala 193 nastavnika koji predaju sedmim razredima iz deset beogradskih osnovnih škola. Metodom faktorske analize ustanovljeno je prisustvo više faktora koji govore o psihološkom sadržaju i značenju nastavničkih stereotipa o mlađim adolescentima. Rezultati našeg istraživanja ukazuju: (a) da se stereotipi nastavnika o mlađim adolescentima delimično podudaraju sa sadržajem široko rasprostranjenog koncepta o 'buri i stresu'; (b) da je taj koncept uglavnom zasićen negativnom percepcijom učenika od strane nastavnika i (v) da nastavnici učenike ređe opažaju kroz prizmu nekih pozitivnih osobina. Odnosno, nastavnici smatraju da te pozitivne osobine nisu 'tipične' odlike adolescenata ukoliko se posmatraju kao grupa. Ispitivani nastavnici poseduju stereotipe o mlađim adolescentima, ali intenzitet i valenca te stereotipnosti variraju u zavisnosti od prirode dobijenih faktora.