ABSTRACT
Underlying contemporary debates about the causes and extent of control problems in school there is some consensus that responsibility for control ultimately rest squarely on the shoulders of the classroom teacher. Teachers appreciate this as much as the public and politicians. But this fact tells us little about why classroom control is considered to be such a vital part of the job, nor does it explain how control is recognized, established and challenged by those involved. Without the answers to such questions our knowledge of the phenomenon of classroom control has to remain at best sketchy, at worst crude. For this reason, this chapter and the next start to explore the reasons why classroom control is regarded as so central to the life of classrooms and what meaning it holds particularly for those charged with establishing control – the teachers.
