Social Control

The definition of “social control,” as defined by Wikipedia (2009), is “Social control includes social mechanisms that regulate individual and group behavior, leading to conformity and compliances to the rules of a given society or social group.” I see two different types of social control in the schools – social control during the school hours and social control after school hours.

During School Hours

Teachers call it “classroom management;” however, the fact is that it is social control. The classroom is a minisociety. The classroom has social norms. These norms might not be the same as the cultural norms for adults, but the norms are there. We control our students and create a classroom environment that is “acceptable.” We uphold the norms of the classroom environment in the following ways:

• Lines: We ask our students to walk in single-file lines. We ask them to travel in that style so that we can keep the students from forming an out-of-control mob in the hallway.
• Speaking: Teachers use different methods to control student communication in the classroom. Some teachers ask students to raise their hands and ask for permission before speaking. Other teachers teach their students a hand signal. The common characteristic is that the teachers are controlling the students’ ability to communicate.
• Knowledge: Without thinking about it, teachers withhold certain information from students. This is a form of social control. When students enter my classroom, I do not say, “Hey boys and girls! We will read 50 pages in the textbook today!” I would say something like, “Good afternoon! I hope you are all ready to read an awesome story!” Do you see the difference? It has a name – social control.

After School Hours

Donald Clark (2009) describes Bloom's three domains of learning as the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. When we teach values, attitudes and beliefs, we are involved in both instruction in the affective domain AND social control. Let’s think about a scenario that plays out in 5th grade classrooms everywhere.

In the Classroom
• Sue – “Mr. Hooper, Johnny called me ugly!”
• Mr. Hooper – “Johnny, did you call Sue ugly?”
• Johnny – “Yes, Mr. Hooper.”
• Mr. Hooper – “Step outside with me, Johnny.”
• Johnny – “Yes sir.”
In the Hall - Outside the Classroom
• Mr. Hooper – “Johnny, is it appropriate classroom behavior to call people mean names?”
• Johnny – “I don’t know”
• Mr. Hooper – “It is not appropriate at all? How does it make others feel when you call them names?”
• Johnny – “It makes people feel bad when you call them names.”
• Mr. Hooper – “Yes Johnny, it does. What should your next step be?”
• Johnny – “Apologize to Sue.”
• Mr. Hooper – “Exactly.”

The dialogue above describes a teacher instructing a student in the affective domain. The student is changing the moral beliefs of the student. By changing the students’ moral values, we are changing their social behavior as adults. Without instruction in the affective domain, Johnny may exhibit inappropriate adult behavior .

References

Clark, D. (2009) Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains. Retrieved from: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html

Wikipedia. (2009). Social Control. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_control