Between Chaos, Instability, Change and Antifragility. A Qualitative Study of Working Conditions and Everyday Reality of Polish Montessori Early Childhood Education Teachers

Abstract

The aim of this article is to synthesise the results of a qualitative study on Montessori early childhood education teachers in Poland regarding the concept of meanings given to instability, chaos and change in their professional everyday life. The research was conducted among a group of thirty-five women working in kindergartens and primary schools using an individual, qualitative, semi-structured research interview, transcribed and analysed according to the procedure of phenomenography. The analysis of the outcome space made it possible to identify and describe three categories: I) change and instability as unbearable stressors, II) far from change and instability as something that is far away, III) change and instability as natural conditions for individual and organisational learning. The first category is related to conceptions of meaning that thematise instability as, something that is permanently experienced and, at the same time, something that ideally should not be experienced. This instability is primarily associated with authoritarian management styles and paternalistic treatment of teachers by employers and/or parents of children. Within the second category are narratives illustrating working conditions away from change and instability provided by the strong personalities of head teachers and authoritarian management. The third category refers to change and instability as a natural condition of the world. From this perspective, not only are they not negative, but quite the opposite. Instability and change provide opportunities for learning and at both individual and organisational levels.