Debating over authority in education

1. Debating over authority in education Definingauthority The pros and cons of authority Initiating a researchproject

2. Definingauthority • Authoritywithin the education system can stem from the principal or the teachers. In this respect itiskeyed to a hierarchical structure atwork in the school system. • Whetheritisexerted by the principal or by the teaching staff, authoritycanbepersonal or institutional. • A studentmay have to complyeitherbecause the adultwants to or becausehe has to follow the rulesestablished by the schoolboard.

3. Definingauthority GRAMMAR: Ingforms vs. TO+BV or BV • Exertingone’sauthoritymayimply: • Imposing discipline in the class by askingstudents to remainsilent, bepolite, completework and assignments. • Warnstudentsthat if they do not complytheywillbepunished. • Punishstudentswho refuse to comply in a waythatproves to be efficient. • Implement the schoolpolicy and see to itthateveryone in the school respects the rules. • Expell disruptive students and assessteachers’ performance fairly.

4. The problemwithauthority: introducing the debate • In most cases, authorityatschoolissomethingthatadults impose upon non-adults. It thereforecontravenesstudentempowerment and responsibility. • Authorityis a cultural notion thatmayvaryaccording to time periods and places. In the smaeway as parents canbe permissive (indulgent), authoritarian, authoritative, or uninvolved, teachersmayeitherbetoosevere or over-indulgent. • Authoritycanbeill-exerted (i.e. exertedunfairly or excessively). It maylead to ill-treatments. • Authoritycanbeunderpinned by a non-democratic model for education. • Whenadvocatingauthority, the premiseisthatsomestudentswillmisbehave.

5. The pros and the cons • Somestudentscan’t stand beingtoldwhat to do: if the teacherasksthem to stop chatting, they’regoing to spark off a conflict. Punishmentmaybring out more violence. • Whenill or over exertedauthoritymay prompt students to voice or show their opposition to the school system in general or to the adult world. • Corporal punishmentleads to humiliation whenteacheroversteptheir position. • Authorityisneeded in problemschoolswheneverchildren are not givenclearboundariesat home and are likely to beunrulybecausethey are not used to obeying strict rules. • Authorityis a means of structuring / modellingchildren. • Obeyingrules, following instructions mayenhancecareer-readiness. • If thereis an achievingatmosphereloopholes in the curriculum, the non-completion of the course work, cannotbeattributed to children’smisbehaviour but to possible teacherinefficiency.

6. How to giveone’s opinion • Expressing opinion I think that - I believe that - I reckon that - I assume that - I contend that - I am convinced that -It is my belief that - It is my contention that - I would maintain that - I would go as far as to say that - In my opinion - To my mind - To my eyes - As far as I am concerned - As I see it - This is how I see the issue : • Generalising Generally speaking - Roughly speaking - Broadly speaking - On the whole - To all intends and purposes - By and large • Qualifying Oddly enough, - Surprisingly enough, - Strangely enough, - Paradoxically enough - Strange as it may seem - However curious it may seem - What I’m trying to get at; suggest is…

7. Disagreeing • Restricting I must admit that - I must say however that - This argument does not seem to hold water. - This line of argument is not flawless - It should be borne in mind that - It should be remembered that - It does not necessarily follow that - It would be nearer to the truth to say that - It is one thing to…; it is another to… - What cannot be too strongly emphasised is that - However, nevertheless, yet…- This idea is far from being unquestionable - We should take this assertion with a pinch of salt • Disagreeing I don’t see the problem in the same way as…- I don’t see the issue in the same light as…- I don’t see eye to eye with the author - Having dealt with the argument for, l would like now to consider those against. - I’ve spoken about the pros. What about the cons ? - Let’s weigh the pros and cons - However we must not forget the other side of the question. - Let’s not forget the other side of the coin. - Turning now to the other side of the issue, I would dare to claim that… - But at this point, one should stress that… - The case ‘against’ is equally convincing. - I wouldn’t side with the author on this point - I disagree on this aspect

8. Backing up yourideas • Let me supply an example : • By this I mean that… • Let us see how it works in practice • The main implications of this are • The best example I know of this is… • To highlight this I would refer to… • To underscore this one only has to look at… • Let us consider the case of… • For example • For instance • To quote an example • An example could make this point clearer • A prime illustration of this is… • A case in point in … • One need look no further than… • Take the example of • What about…

9. Conductingresearch • Researchmaysupporttheories, pre-existinganalysis, or intuitions. • It mayprovidefurtherevidencethat a phenomenoniswidespread. • It maysubstantiate a commonly-heldbelief. • Empirical data-collection maylead to the formulation of tentative hypothesesthat are put to the test. • Universallaws or principles ay beinferedfromparticularfacts. • Hypotheses guide data-collecting (hypothetico-deductivemethod • Researchfinding are published in scientificjournals or reviews.

10. Sketching a researchproject • Whichpreconceivedideasneedbequestionned or challenged? • Which aspects of the problemrequirefurtherresearch or are under-investigated? Why? • What type of fieldworkcouldenlightenyourunderstanding of authority? • Whowouldyoulike to interview? • Whatkind of data couldyoucollect? • How canyoube sure yourresultswillbereliable? • Whatwouldyourresearchbring to the field?

11. Sientificresearch • Scientificresearchis about : observing a givenenvironment collecting information / data related to one field of study or one particular situation investigating how phenomenafunction One phenomenon / Somephenomena Science is a form of knowledgewhichisbackeduponscientificprocedures, thatis to saystandardizedmethods of investigation.

12. Scientificresearch • Must be objective: the collection of observations should not beinfluenced or biased by externalfactors. • Must take place under conditions that are tightlycontrolled • Must beconsolidated by repeatedexperiments or investigationsyielding the sameresults. Whatcanundermine the objectivity of a research in yourfield ? Are researchersimpervious to predjudices ?

13. Writing an introduction to an academicpaper • Follow the given pattern: • The definition of « authority » • Problemswith the definition of « authority » • Whichdefinitionisagreed on in yourpaper? • Yourenquiry: whatyoupurport to investigate • The results of previousresearch: literaturereview • Yourhypothesis • Yourmethod: data gathering, sample, relevance of yourresearchmethod

14. A few writingtips Researchers have investigated ….so as to strengthentheirunderstanding of… Theydelvedinto … in order to shed new light on … Researchers have focusedtheir attention on …with a view to monitoring the situation more efficiently. …. has been underincreasingscrutiny as the outcomes of the researchcouldbefollowed by … In an attempt to reduce gun-related violence in schools, some American researchers have investigatedbehaviour trends among a sample of pupilsaged 10 to 15. Whileitiscommonlyheldthatchildren’s IQ scores are not related to how wellthey do in school, weshalldemonstratethatthisassumptionis not alwaysevidenced. Evidence gathered in thisresearchsuggeststhatpeople’sexpectancyregarding a baby’s love for hismotherisbasedupontraditionallyacceptedideas.

15. A few writingtips • Most of the researchconducted on authorityso far has led to acknowledge the benefits of fairpunishment. • One of the mostdebated over aspect / disputable aspect / debatable dimension is… • Verylittleresearch has been done on how to measure the effect of punishments. • Corporal punishment has drawnmuch attention. • Further investigation isnecessary to fullyunderstand how authoritycanberevised. • Measuring the efficiency of authorityturns out to be a trickytask / a difficulttask. • In spite of a spate of research on the correlationbetweenauthority and performance, the efficiency of punishmentremainsunderdocumented. • Few authors have convincinglyevidencedthatauthoritymaybedoneawaywith. • A couple of researchers have advocated alternative ways of exertingauthority.

16. Whichtensesshouldbeused? • Whenyougive a definition, use the simple past: Authorityaimsatmakingpupilscomplywith the rules. • Whenyourefer to a temporarypresent situation, use an –ingform: The recentincrease in school violence has foster a call for more authorityatschool. • Whenyourefer to a preciseeventwhichoccured in the past, use the simple past: Back in the 1970s severalexperimentalschoolswere set up underpinned by new models of authority. • If you allude to a temporary situation in the past, use an –ingform: At the time, youngadultswereclaiming more rights and powers. • Whenyou mention the researchdoneso far, use the presentperfect: So far very few investigations have been conducted on corporal punishment.