Fear and Power: A Case Study of Fear in Power Relations in Malagasy Lutheran Schools

Abstract

This study considers fear within the educational discipline in Madagascar. The aim of the study is to examine how fear is part of teachers and principals work and what factors they fear. I address how fear is visible in their power relations and how some may be driven by it. Furthermore, the study includes a comparative aspect, as it addresses the differences and similarities between the teachers and the principals within the educational discipline. The research design chosen for the study is a comparative case-study design. In total 23 informants (teachers and principals) were interviewed about the phenomenon of fear. As there already exists literature concerning pupil’s fear, the teachers and the principals were chosen as informants for this study. The informants all work in Malagasy Lutheran schools in the central highlands in Madagascar. The study uses general literature concerning emotions and fear. Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory and Luhmann’s theory of power are further used as an analytical framework for the findings. They highlight the dynamics in which fear operates and clarifies sources of fear. Additionally, I have used theories reflecting ethics, norms and attitudes in the Malagasy culture. All in all, the literature functions as an overarching framework for studying and discussing the findings. Interviews showed that what the teachers and principals fear is closely related to the power relations in which they live and work. The factors that are considered frightening seem to be linked to the hierarchy in school. Cultural values make it difficult to distinguish between fear and respect, as well as spot the original source of fear. There are similarities, as well as differences, in how teachers and principals reflect upon the phenomenon of fear. For the most part, fear seems to be more visible among teachers than among principals. It could be questioned whether this is due to their position in the school’s internal hierarchy or not. I argue that there are several factors that teachers and principals fear in the educational discipline in Madagascar. I further argue that fear is visible in the power relations between teachers and principals in the way they relate to one another.