Authority of the Teacher

Feminist educators and researchers were most helpful here. They explore and articulate alternative approaches to power and different uses of power, looking at ways that combine knowing, doing and being. Exploring different ways of perceiving and exercising the authority of the teacher is given some help through the thoughtful work of feminist educators Jennifer Gore (1992) and Allison Tom (1997), who stress the importance of coming to terms with the existence of the inherent power that teachers have through their institutional roles and their particular expertise. Tom asserts that this power "is something we must own and use with responsibility rather than disavow" (11) and suggests ways to work with teacher power. Gore problematizes the meanings and presuppositions of empowerment within pedagogy, while Tom zeroes in on more specific concerns about power issues within teacher and student relationships.

Gore talks about the portrayal of teacher omnipotence when the teacher is positioned as an agent of empowerment. She problematizes the attempts of educators to share power or give up power in the name of empowerment. Using Foucault's argument about disciplinary power, Gore talks about how these attempts may become misdirected without awareness of how decreases of overt regulation can increase through more covert means. Tom suggests overt and explicit acknowledgment of teacher power and authority, and has developed a set of principles that she frames as a deliberate relationship. By this she means the teacher works from a strong sense of responsibility to create an empowering teaching relationship with students through controlled, purposeful and conscious actions. Her theoretical position on power includes a deliberate use of power and authority through attention to one's positionality as a teacher. She also brings attention to the shifting dynamic of power, manifest in the changing power relations between teachers and students as the teaching role shifts from expert to partner, and as student increase their use of power.

Transparency of practice, an approach that Tom develops, includes the practices of explaining procedures and intentions, and the teacher establishment of ground rules. Her rationale is to make explicit and raise awareness of the usual hidden norms of interaction amongst teachers and students. As well, the explanations and explicitness can open up possibilities of student opposition, thus "transparency of practice sets in motion a dynamic of empowerment" (1997:17). Tom explains that this opening up of possible negotiation of teacher authority is a key intent of this approach. She emphasizes that negotiation and challenges to teacher authority do not mean abdication of teacher authority.