THE SACRIFICING GAME : A qualitative study examining pedagogical relationships and the factors that have to be balanced in connection to the educational assignment

Abstract: The pedagogical relationship is of importance for teachers to succeed in their educational assignment. There is, however, a balancing act made by teachers to the factors that affect their educational choices in relation to the pedagogical relationship. For this paper, I have chosen to examine this from two different angles, a practical view based on the teachers’ perceptions, and secondly put into a theoretical framework of Biesta (2008; 2020) and von Oettingen (2020). The aim of the first research question regards the factors that affect teachers’ educational choices concerning pedagogical relationships and how teachers might balance this. The second research question aims to examine how the abstract concept of the functions of education (Biesta, 2008) and the paradox of the school (von Oettingen, 2020) are connected to the possible sacrifices in the educational mission in Swedish schools.   The results for research question one indicates that there is a majority of overlaps in the factors found. This creates a weaving effect among the answers given by the informants in their perception of what factors they balance and how it affects their pedagogical relationships in connection to their educational assignment. As for research question two, the results imply that one of the sacrifices made by the informants was to focus on the relationship first, and the educational assignment second. The choice to make the qualification function secondary to the pedagogical relationship indicates a lack of balance in connection to the paradox of the school, as well as an inability to connect to the pedagogical dilemma.