Between Fidelity and Feeling: A Qualitative Synthesis of Teacher Emotional Labor and Identity in Scripted Classrooms
Abstract
This chapter synthesizes qualitative research on how K–12 teachers experience emotional labor and identity negotiation in scripted classrooms. Drawing on 20 studies published between 2010 and 2024, it integrates interviews, ethnographies, and case studies through emotional labor and teacher identity frameworks. Four themes emerged: emotional dissonance between authenticity and compliance; adaptation as creative agency; moral labor in reconciling care with accountability; and emotional governance as systemic control. The synthesis reframes emotional labor as professional expertise and quiet resistance, calling for reforms
Publication Title
Critical and Theoretical Perspectives on Scripted Curricula
Recommended Citation
Boudreaux, J. (2026). Between Fidelity and Feeling: A Qualitative Synthesis of Teacher Emotional Labor and Identity in Scripted Classrooms. Critical and Theoretical Perspectives on Scripted Curricula, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-2600-2040-1.ch001
