Abstract
Despite the fact that teacher authority is an ever-present and fundamental component of everyday school life and classroom experiences, teacher authority remains poorly understood and insufficiently researched. By reviewing the sociological and educational literature on teacher authority, the study outlined the current status of teacher authority research, explicated the institutional and personal sources of legitimate teacher authority, and delineated four perspectives for understanding teacher authority: a) teacher authority is legitimate domination generated and justified by professional and personal sources of legitimacy; b) teacher authority functions through pedagogical discourse which is a both instructional and regulative process of transmitting value-laden knowledge; c) teacher authority is in dynamic teacher-student relationships where teachers cannot automatically possess but have to earn students’ respect; d) teacher authority emits educational influences and essentially serves the moral order of conscience. The study calls for more research into teacher authority especially against the backdrop of declining teacher authority yet ever growing expectations and demands on teachers and teaching outcomes.
Highlights
Teacher authority is a thorny, poorly understood yet ever-present and fundamental component of everyday school life and classroom experiences (Pace & Hemmings, 2007)
Due to the fast development of information technology and mass media communication, teachers are no longer regarded as primary knowledge holders and distributors and teacher authority is on the decline worldwide (Gordon, 2005; Kelchtermans, 2005; Kitchen, 2014)
Drawing on the existing body of research, the authors proposed the following definition of teacher authority: “Teacher authority” in the present research is defined as a form of non-coercive power which is endorsed by students due to its perceived legitimacy and constructed by dynamic teacher-student relations centering on a moral order; it is essentially a type of symbolic control that translates power relations into pedagogic discourse and pedagogic discourse into power relations
Summary
Teacher authority is a thorny, poorly understood yet ever-present and fundamental component of everyday school life and classroom experiences (Pace & Hemmings, 2007). Authority could refer to glamorous leadership rooted in a leader’s charisma and acclamation. It might be a synonym for domination and manipulation exercised by power holders to obtain involuntary obedience from those less powerful ones (Alderman & Green, 2011; Harjunen, 2009; Uitto & Syrja La, 2011). Controversies and complexities, a growing body of theoretical and empirical research has convincingly demonstrated that teacher authority is an ever-present feature of everyday school life, determining the quality of students’ schooling experiences (Koutrouba, Baxevanou, &Koutroumpas, 2012; Pellegrino, 2010; Richmond & McCroskey, 1984; van Manen, 1991). This study attempts to fill the paucity and aims to provide a more balanced and comprehensive view of teacher authority
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