Teachers’ surveillance and children's subversion: the educational implications of non-educational activities in the classroom

Abstract

The research reported in this paper reveals that in the classroom children are under constant surveillance and control by the teacher, and that they may respond by attempting to subvert the teacher's regulations and order through distractions, disruptions, attention-seeking and time-wasting activities. On the one hand, this subversion indicates there is a fine balance of power between teacher and pupils in the classroom, but on the other it indicates that the pupils are reflecting on their own behavior and experiences and thus developing into morally autonomous individuals.