Teachers’ expectations and experiences with processes of reform

Since 2005, there have been three ambitious Danish upper-secondary school reforms. These reforms reflect the broad international educational reform trend. In this article we apply a mixed methods approach to examine whether and how the teacher’s role has changed. This article concludes that teachers encounter increased complexity and a teaching role characterised by the need to make difficult decisions regarding prioritising tasks that, from a teacher’s perspective, all seem essential to ensuring good teaching, with Bildung as a constant guiding light. We also conclude that reforms may be emotionally exhausting, as they risk undermining or undervaluing teachers’ moral purposes.