Commodified Classrooms, Eroded Identities: The Emotional Woes of Indian School Teachers

Abstract In this chapter, we examine how the commoditization of education has transformed the Indian schooling system and, in turn, reshaped teachers’ professional identities. Once seen as educators and mentors, teachers are now increasingly regarded as service providers within a market-driven system. This shift has brought new behavioral demands and emotional management challenges, yet the role of emotional labor in responding to these changes remains underexplored. Drawing on qualitative insights, the chapter highlights how teaching now resembles hospitality work, with financial transactions framing the exchange of educational services. Teachers must navigate (often) conflicting expectations from school management, parents, and students. To reconcile their fractured professional identities and meet these competing demands, they draw on emotional labor as a coping strategy. While emotional labor has long been recognized as central to teaching, this chapter reveals its deeper function in helping teachers manage the evolving pressures of a commoditized education landscape. The chapter contributes a fresh perspective on how emotional labor supports teachers in adapting to neoliberal reforms and changing role expectations in Indian education.