Educational Alternatives, Volume 23, 2025

Rezumat: Elementary school homeroom teachers are pivotal in Israel's educational system, serving as intermediaries where academic challenges converge with parental expectations and educational realities. Despite their central role and substantial responsibilities, current systemic discourse fails to recognize homeroom teaching as a distinct professional specialization. This study examines how elementary school homeroom teachers perceive and understand their educational role. The study employed a qualitative approach to explore personal meanings and perspectives that quantitative methods might overlook. The study involved seven pre-service teachers from four elementary schools in southern Israel. Each pre-service teacher interviewed three mentor teachers, resulting in twenty-one participants. All mentor teachers were experienced educators with dual roles as classroom teachers and professional mentors. Analysis of the research findings revealed a complex duality in teachers' perceptions. Participants reported significant satisfaction with their overall role, including empowering professional experiences, fulfilling relationships with children and parents, and a strong sense of educational, national, and pedagogical values. The study concludes that homeroom teachers' unique position requires pedagogical sensitivity and systemic coordination skills. Key recommendations include reducing administrative burdens to allow educators to focus on their core educational responsibilities and increasing homeroom teacher salaries to encourage qualified professionals to assume this critical role. These findings highlight the need for systemic recognition of homeroom teaching as a specialized profession requiring targeted support and compensation.