Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Psychology and Counselling, Farhangian University,,Tehran, Iran.
2
Department of Counseling, Department of Psychology and Counselling, Farhangian UniversityTehran, Iran
3
Department of Knowledge and Information Science, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
4
Master’s Student in Career Counseling, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Objective: The declining of teachers’ professional status is a fundamental challenge in educational systems, with serious consequences for the quality of teaching–learning processes and teachers’ educational authority. This study aimed to represent the lived experiences of primary school teachers regarding the weakening of their professional status and to explain their proposed strategies for enhancing educational authority.
Method: This qualitative study adopted an interpretive phenomenological approach. Participants included 12 primary school teachers from different cities, selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using directed thematic analysis based on Hsieh and Shannon’s (2005) approach.
Results: The results indicated that the weakening of teachers’ professional status is a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by organizational, cultural, and professional factors. Major themes included institutional distrust, psychological and physical pressures, a culture of silence, customer-oriented schools, restricted innovation, and managerial interference in teaching, all of which undermined teachers’ status and authority. Proposed strategies included restoring respect for teachers, strengthening professional autonomy, enabling innovation, creating safe spaces for dialogue, and enhancing organizational trust. The findings suggest that improving teachers’ professional status and educational authority requires revising school governance policies, reforming managerial discourse, and providing structural support for teachers’ professional development.
Conclusions: Overall, the study shows that the professional status of primary school teachers is influenced not only by organizational conditions and school management but also by cultural and social factors; therefore, rebuilding this status requires simultaneous attention to all these levels.
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