Constructing the Student Culprit

Abstract

Culprit is a part of a broader definition of rule breaking. Deviance, theft, and cheating are all subparts of culprit, a term generally understood as doing something untoward or wrong. The explicit point is that culprit is more encompassing than deviance, theft, or even cheater, as it includes all of these, and, then some. This article investigates the media production and framing of student culprit, and drawing from some exploratory fieldwork, then illustrates how in some instances these messages permit the expansion of control over students in the classroom. Suggestions for future research are noted.