A case study of pride and commitment in Afrikaans speaking South African high school teachers

Abstract

Commitment is the passion that individuals have toward work roles or personal goals (Schreuder&Coetzee 2007). Teachers’ experience of identity plays a vital role in the ways in which they conduct their work, as well as their level of commitment (Jepson&Forrest, 2006). As a moral self-relevant self-regulatory emotion, pride can motivate individuals to obtain positive self-evaluations that facilitate the development of a congruent sense of self (Tangney 2003). Self-conscious emotions such as pride are essentially emotions of self-regulation. Thus, pride has the potential to shape an individual’s identity and to regulate their behaviour. In this study I argue that pride can enhance the strength of commitment by enhancing the development of a congruent sense of self. Tracy and Robins (2008) refer to two facets of pride namely: Authentic and hubristic pride. Authentic pride is socially desirable, achievement-orientated and related to accomplishment, confidence, productivity and self-worth. On the other hand hubristic pride is narcissistic and coupled with arrogance and conceit (Tracey&Robins 2007; Tracy, Cheng, Robins&Trzesniewski 2009). In the present study I consider the role that pride play in motivating the individual to select behaviours that will tend to lead to an increase in self-coherency and commitments.