This presentation is based on broader doctoral dissertation research (Pekkarinen, 2024) that examined university teachers’ perceptions and experiences of being and developing as university teachers, and the conditions that support this development. Within this research, particular attention was given to the role of emotions and reflection, including social reflection, and their role in developing as a university teacher and in experiencing pedagogical competency. In addition, the research included exploring pedagogical training courses and educational development projects as contexts for supporting teachers’ professional growth. In this paper presentation, I will focus on the findings related to emotions, reflection, and social reflection, and on how these findings can be utilized in teacher development in practice.

In the study, emotions are examined through the Control‑Value Theory (CVT) of achievement emotions, which explains how teachers’ appraisals of control and value shape the emotions they experience in their daily teaching work. CVT conceptualizes achievement emotions as emotions related to an activity or its outcomes when evaluated against a standard of success. (Pekrun, Frenzel, Goetz, & Perry, 2007.) Teaching can be understood as a goal‑oriented activity, and teachers may therefore experience different emotions depending on how controllable and meaningful they perceive their teaching to be. In the doctoral dissertation, CVT was used as a starting point for studying individually experienced emotions. However, it was also recognized that emotions can be shared and socially examined, but they were not defined as collective (Salmela, 2012) or group-based emotions (Kessler & Hollbach, 2005; Smith & Mackie, 2016).

Reflection is seen as a cognitive, emotional, and social process through which university teachers interpret and evaluate their teaching experiences and their actions as teachers. Reflection helps teachers connect experience with understanding, link theory with practice, and understand emotionally charged situations they encounter in teaching (Schön, 1983; Boud, Keogh & Walker, 1985). In addition to individual reflection, the study emphasizes the importance of social reflection, which is understood as reflection with colleagues and peers. Social reflection involves sharing experiences, discussing interpretations, and constructing meaning together in dialogue, and has been shown to support professional learning, the development of teacher identity, and the interpretation of emotions related to teaching also in previous research (Mezirow, 2000; Roxå & Mårtensson, 2009; Mälkki, 2011). Individual reflection allows teachers to express and examine their own experiences, while social reflection provides opportunities to examine their own experiences against those of others. 

The data were collected as part of a doctoral dissertation from a total of 113 university teachers at two Finnish multidisciplinary universities. A mixed methods approach was applied, including both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data included self-evaluation surveys using Likert-type scales (1–5) to assess teachers’ pedagogical competency, the role of social reflection, and emotion-related aspects of teaching. The surveys included two instruments: the PCPD (Pedagogical Competency and Professional Development instrument) and the SRET (Social Reflection and Emotions in Teaching instrument). Qualitative data consisted of reflective writings, open-ended questions, and semi-structured thematic interviews. The reflective writings were collected to allow teachers to articulate their experiences, while the interviews provided in-depth insight into the emotional and reflective dimensions of teaching. The qualitative data were analyzed using theory-guided qualitative content analysis, which combined inductive identification of themes with deductive comparison to theoretical frameworks. The quantitative data were analyzed using statistical methods.

The results show that emotions, reflection, and social reflection play an important role in how university teachers experience their being and developing as teachers. Teachers reported experiencing positive, negative, and mixed emotions related to teaching and being a teacher. Positive emotions (e.g., joy, enthusiasm, and satisfaction) were experienced to strengthen positive experiences of pedagogical competency and of being and developing as a teacher. Negative emotions (e.g., frustration and anxiety) were not perceived as discouraging, however. Instead, teachers experienced them as activating and prompting them to review their practices and identify areas for improvement. Reflection, and especially social reflection, was also experienced as central in developing as a teacher. Through individual reflection, university teachers evaluate their pedagogical experiences and construct their professional identities. Yet, they also noted that reflection does not automatically lead to changes in practice when its purpose or process remains unclear or when opportunities for reflective work are limited. In addition, teachers emphasized that social reflection with colleagues is essential for interpreting emotions, evaluating experiences, and learning from others. Such reflective partnerships may be found not only within one’s immediate teaching community but also beyond it, for example, through multidisciplinary groups in pedagogical training, educational development projects, or personal networks. In conclusion, the results highlight the role of emotions, reflection, and social reflection as essential to teaching and teacher development. Supporting teacher development requires space for concrete reflection practices. For individual teachers, simple tools such as keeping a reflection journal and systematically using student feedback can help make reflection part of everyday teaching. More broadly, teacher development actions should intentionally integrate structured opportunities for social reflection, especially those that enable social reflection through collaboration, meaningful discussion, and networking with colleagues to help teachers interpret emotions, share experiences, and turn reflection into sustained pedagogical growth.

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