Reform and the Culture of Authority in Schools

Abstract

The author explores the resilience of the normative order in schools and attempts by reformers outside the classroom to alter that order. The core of the order is the notion of the teacher spending virtually all of his or her time interacting with students. Central to attempts to alter that order is failure of the reformers to understand and appreciate the place of the teacher's authority. For teachers, legitimate authority consented to by students is essential. Otherwise in their dealings with students, they must rely on coercion, threats, and punishment and engage in ways that defeat educational goals. Current reform attempts, by treating teachers as passive receivers of external advice, serve to undermine teachers' legitimate authority. Rather than reform, the result is teacher resistance and student disengagement.