ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the beliefs and practices of five government teachers who challenge the stereotypical image of being dysfunctional, lacking in motivation and not being accountable. The framework of folk pedagogy is used to analyse and present their interpretations of the context, children, educational aims and their own professional identity and role vis-à-vis children’s contexts of disadvantage. The teacher–student relationship is synthesised and conceptualised in metaphors including friend, mother and guru.
