Discourses of ‘indiscipline’: a Foucauldian response

Citation

Watson C (2005) Discourses of ‘indiscipline’: a Foucauldian response. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 10 (1), pp. 55-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/1363275205052530

Abstract
ABSTRACT A recent editorial in the Scottish Educational Journal, the publication of the teacher trade union the Educational Institute of Scotland, headed ‘More action, not words needed on discipline’, condemned the level of indiscipline, violence and aggression in Scottish schools – in particular that directed against teachers – and criticized the government for its lack of action in tackling the problem. This article examines the way arguments such as this position the individual as ‘deviant’ within educational systems. It discusses the importance of metaphor in organizing our perceptions and suggests that an analysis of power relations in schools could give rise to alternative metaphorical concepts that may help to promote the inclusion of children whose behaviour is deemed to be unacceptable.

Keywords
Foucault; Behaviour management; School violence Scotland; School discipline

Journal
Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties: Volume 10, Issue 1