ABSTRACT
Classroom processes do not occur in a vacuum. Both the context of the society and the orga-nizational roles of the teacher and student shape what happens in the classroom. In addition to these forces affecting classroom processes, there is an intricate social system inside the classroom that affects relationships between students and relationships between Students and teachers. This chapter will sketch what sociologists of education have learned about four aspects of classroom processes: (1) the teacher as an authority figure, (2) changes in the role of the teacher in response to changes in methods of teaching, (3) the origin and consequences of status hierarchies that develop among the students, and (4) interpersonal relationships between students and their interconnections with work arrangements in the classroom.
