“No harm done”: Teachers’ humorous talk about children’s safety

This paper presents and discusses the forms of humour employed by New Zealand primary school teachers when talking about children’s safety in the outdoor classroom. A discourse analysis, guided by the notion of interpretative repertoires (Potter & Wetherell 1990, 2004), suggests a tension between safe practice and enjoyment with humour as a mediating factor. Three repertoires were named from analysis: safe practitioner; adventurous risk-taker; fun, pleasure and excitement seeker. A surprising and unexpected aspect was the place of humour in teachers’ talk, as analysis indicated that humour was an interpretative resource employed in all three repertoires. I suggest humour is a mechanism through which teachers negotiate and manage both providing for children’s enjoyable outdoor educational activities and ensuring their safety.