Socialisation at school: the pedagogical dimension of the teaching profession in urban primary schools

Pedagogical activities have long been an important component of the teaching profession. Each day, teachers are involved with moral, social and emotional dilemmas, and they are confronted with norms and values (Korthagen, 2004). Day-to-day practice in the field of education, the popular media and the academic and practical literature (Turkenburg, 2008) all indicate that primary teachers are facing increasing demands with regard to their socialisation duties. Especially teachers working in urban schools are feeling pressurized to address a wide range of socialisation issues (Tillman, 2005, Singer et al, 2010). The results of a preliminary study involving 80 early-career primary teachers in urban primary schools, however, indicate that these teachers do not want to perform socialisation duties, and they feel that they spend too much time on such tasks. These findings raise the question of what primary teachers in urban schools understand as socialisation, which socialisation tasks are required (or increasingly required) of them and how they consider these tasks to fit within their professional identity