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Gallagher, Michael David

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Producing the schooled subject : techniques of power in a primary school classroom

Drawing upon ethnographic work carried out over a year with a class in a state primary school in
Edinburgh, this thesis examines the techniques of power exercised by both teachers and children
in the process of schooling. In so doing, it seeks to show how these techniques attempt to
produce children as educable subjects, resulting in a series of ongoing, dynamic struggles over
the social space of the school.

Chapter one introduces the thesis and the questions which it seeks to answer. Chapter
two situates my work within the context of recent social research in geography, childhood
studies and education research. Chapter three provides an overview of Foucault's work on the
relations between power, knowledge and the subject, and addresses some common criticisms of
his project. Chapter four then presents a narrative of how I carried out my research. This details
the empirical methods I used, explores my theoretical understanding of these methods, and also
includes some critical reflections upon my research practice.

Chapters five and six explore the geography of disciplinary power in the classroom.
Chapter five begins with a brief exegesis of Discipline and Punish, Foucault's most well-known
work. I review Foucault's conception of docile bodies, before describing a range of techniques
used in school by both teachers and children which aim to produce docility. In particular, I
explore techniques which aim to produce individuals, both through the spatial separation of
children, and through the targeting of non-physical disciplinary measures upon individuals.
Chapter six begins with an interpretation of Foucault's infamous account of the Panopticon,
before examining techniques of surveillance as they are deployed within the classroom.
Throughout both these chapters, my close and careful reading of Foucault emphasises
that the systems of discipline he describes are ideal models rather than, as some scholars have
assumed, depictions of the real workings of institutions. My empirical material captures the
varied permutations and combinations of disciplinary techniques as they are applied, their
spontaneous adaptation by both teachers and children, the resistance tactics used to counter
them, and the particular ways in which discipline becomes decentralised through the inculcation
of self-surveillance. In addition, I reflect upon my own practice in the classroom, describing how
I came to be subjected to some of these disciplinary techniques, and was simultaneously coopted
into administering them, both over my self and over the children. This admission is
important, since it locates the problem of discipline in a set of coercive practices which involve
not only teachers, but also children and researchers.

Chapter seven begins by introducing the idea of techniques of the self which Foucault
develops in his later work. My discussion emphasises that Foucault presents a history designed
to inspire ethical reflection, rather than a fully worked-out ethics. Returning to my field notes, I
then examine how various techniques of self are used in the classroom as a style of subjectformation
somewhat different from the disciplinary techniques discussed earlier. I discuss the
central role of self-knowledge in producing educable subjects, and compare and contrast
practices of self-knowledge with those driven by an agenda of care.

Finally, chapter eight presents a synthesis of my analysis followed by a brief conclusion.
Drawing together the empirical work presented in the thesis, I undermine the distinction between
techniques of discipline and techniques of self, drawing attention to the ways in which the
former culminate in and co-opt the latter. I then situate my findings in relation to the literature
discussed in chapter two. In conclusion, I review my findings briefly, advancing some tentative
answers to the questions posed in chapter one

Gallagher, Michael

Edinburgh Research Archive

Producing the schooled subject: techniques of power in a primary school classroom

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Producing the schooled subject: techniques of power in a primary school classroom

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