Sensing the Classroom: Fields, Atmospheres, Resonance and Alienation (forthcoming July 2023)
by Neslihan Sriram-Uzundal
Since the 19th century, German classrooms in secondary education (Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium, etc.) combine seating arrangements with student performance. This article argues that in such classroom settings, the teacher, as the wielder of power, spatially distributes students according to their performances. The spatial position of a student is translatable into social positions. In turn, these social positions influence the perception of self and the world. The teacher’s sensory influence on classroom design and the students is analyzed by comparing the spatial aspects of Lewin’s field theory, Boehme’s concept of atmospheres, and Rosa’s trajectory of resonance and alienation. These theories are applied to the German classroom to help understand students’ views of self and the world. Suggestions are offered to change the classroom design so that seating arrangements are no longer linked to performance. These suggestions also indicate that the hierarchy in a classroom – from the teacher to the students – can be replaced by a heterarchy: a classroom in which teacher-student power is leveled.
Goals & Research Questions
During working on my probe, I changed some structural elements. I wanted to look at the traditional classroom setting, which I will still do, but I won’t have a specific model classroom. I will rather focus on different classroom settings expressing various forms of teacher-student-power/relation. Classrooms are varying due to (school) cultures. In Germany, low performing students sit in the back, strong performing students are placed in the front rows. In turn, in China, low performing students sit in the front to profit from the proximity to the teacher, good performing students sit in the back, because they are already doing well. This is a new perspective I gained while looking into related literature.
According to this, my goals for the probe changed. I will have a literature review on the power of the teacher in the classroom. My model text is Landahl’s (2019) paper on the sensory power of the teacher. He illustrates that the teacher is graspable under the term synopticon. This term refers to Foucault’s idea of the panopticon. While the panoptical prison explains a system of surveillance in which invisible guards watch over the prisoners, the synopticon describes that the teacher as the one having the power of surveillance is always visible to all students. Students watch the teacher act and react. Synopticon also refers to the sensory power of the teacher. He/she decides when students are allowed to speak, when they are allowed to go to the washroom or to eat and drink in the classroom. It is crucial for my probe to explore the sensory power of the teacher in depth. Afterwards, I will investigate different classroom settings using Lewin’s field theory, Böhme’s concept of atmospheres, and Rosa’s concept of resonance and alienation. These theories will help me to understand the influence of the spatial location of a student and how this is shaping his/her perception of self and world.
I have revised my research questions to highlight the power of the teacher. At the same time, I have focused my questions on face-to-face teaching. The questions referring to online teaching will be part of a second probe which aims to deepen this probe.
Which social hierarchies can be derived from the classroom design due to (school) culture?
Which power divisions does the classroom design reflect due to (school) culture?
Which power relations does the classroom design construct?
How can the power of the teacher be described?
How is the power of the teacher expressed in the classroom?
How does the design of a classroom is an expression of/influences the student-teacher-relation?
How does the local positioning of a student in the classroom translates into his/her perception of self and world?
Are there safe zones and unsafe zones in a classroom?
How does the classroom need to be remodelled to deconstruct social hierarchies and power relations?
Bibliography
Landahl, J. (2019). Learning to listen and look: the shift from the monitorial system of education to teacher-led sessions. The Senses and Society, 14(2), 194-206. https://doi.org/10.1080/17458927.2019.1619314
Finefter-Rosenbuhl, I. (2022). Between student voice-based assessment and teacher-student relationships: teachers’ responses to ‘techniques of power’ in schools. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 43(6), 842-859. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2022.2080043
Black, R., & Mayes, E. (2020). Feeling voice: the emotional politics of ‘student voice’ for teachers. British Educational Research Journal, 46(5), 1064-1080. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3613
Soares, C. (2022). Emotions, senses, experience and the history of education. History of Education, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/0046760X.2022.2127005
Power, S., & Taylor, C. (2022). Classroom exclusions: patterns, practices, and pupil perceptions. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2022.2121434
Tualaulelei, E. (2021). Agency and power in classroom names and naming practices. Ethnography and Education, 16(1), 18-30. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2022.2121434
West-Pavlov, R. (2018). Blackboard as separation wall: classrooms, race, and the contemporary crisis in Germany. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 41(10), 1893-1911. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2018.1468918
Landahl, J. (2013). The eye of power(-lessness): on the emergence of the panoptical and synoptical classroom. History of Education, 42(6), 803-821. https://doi.org/10.1080/0046760X.2013.832408
Dingwall, N. (2020). Thinking outside four walls: the case for reconfiguring traditional classrooms. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 25(1), 59-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2019.1672993