Abstract
Schools are risky places: the risk of a poor Ofsted report, the risk of sliding down league tables, the risk of teachers abusing children, the risk of teachers being falsely accused of abuse. As a result of risk anxiety and the ever-increasing sophistication of technology, the surveillance of teachers has proliferated, becoming a future-oriented pursuit to manage this risk. Drawing on the surveillance studies literature, this article attempts to theorise the surveillance of teachers. Firstly the article argues that there are three types of teacher surveillance: the vertical perpetuated by Ofsted and senior school leaders such as teaching observations and learning walks, but also students recording their teachers on mobile phones; horizontal surveillance enacted by peers in terms of concertive control, but also parental surveillance via online and offline networks; and, finally, intrapersonal surveillance embracing reflective practice, data reporting and self-policing proximity from children. The article then concludes by arguing that while surveillance in schools embraces the themes of modern surveillance in general, by doggedly retaining the proximal and the interpersonal, it should be considered a hybrid form between traditional and modern forms of surveillance.Citation
Page, D. (2017) Conceptualising the surveillance of teachers. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 38 (7). pp. 991-1006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2016.1218752Publisher
Taylor & FrancisJournal
British Journal of Sociology of EducationAdditional Links
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2016.1218752Type
Journal articleLanguage
enDescription
This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in British Journal of Sociology of Education, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2016.1218752 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.ISSN
0142-5692EISSN
1465-3346ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/01425692.2016.1218752
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/