‘Control must be maintained’: exploring teachers’ pedagogical practice outside the classroom

TY - JOUR

T1 - ‘Control must be maintained’

T2 - exploring teachers’ pedagogical practice outside the classroom

AU - Glackin, Melissa

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - Drawing on qualitative data, this article presents an analysis of six secondary science teachers’ expectations and practices related to teaching outdoors during a professional development programme. Using Foucault’s and Bernstein’s theories of ‘space’, routines and set practices, I argue that participant teachers’ fear of losing control of their students when in contexts outside the classroom was constructed as place specific in terms of boundaries (or lack of), familiarity and disturbance. Teachers’ ‘fearful’ expectations when outside triggered the initial use of regulatory technologies that were frequently more assertive and controlling than their usual classroom practice, resulting in increased authoritative teaching approaches. However, once technologies of power were developed for use outside, teachers were able to translate and apply their normal dialogic teaching approaches from the classroom. The article concludes with a discussion of student self-regulation through collaborative group work as a step towards resolving the tensions between dialogic pedagogy and teaching in new contexts.

AB - Drawing on qualitative data, this article presents an analysis of six secondary science teachers’ expectations and practices related to teaching outdoors during a professional development programme. Using Foucault’s and Bernstein’s theories of ‘space’, routines and set practices, I argue that participant teachers’ fear of losing control of their students when in contexts outside the classroom was constructed as place specific in terms of boundaries (or lack of), familiarity and disturbance. Teachers’ ‘fearful’ expectations when outside triggered the initial use of regulatory technologies that were frequently more assertive and controlling than their usual classroom practice, resulting in increased authoritative teaching approaches. However, once technologies of power were developed for use outside, teachers were able to translate and apply their normal dialogic teaching approaches from the classroom. The article concludes with a discussion of student self-regulation through collaborative group work as a step towards resolving the tensions between dialogic pedagogy and teaching in new contexts.

KW - Bernstein

KW - Foucault

KW - outdoor learning

KW - Outdoor teaching

KW - professional development

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85016507464&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/01425692.2017.1304204

DO - 10.1080/01425692.2017.1304204

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85016507464

SN - 0142-5692

VL - 39

SP - 61

EP - 76

JO - British Journal of Sociology of Education

JF - British Journal of Sociology of Education

IS - 1

ER -