The nature of teacher authority and teacher expertise JULIAN G.

ELLIOTT
Authority relations between teachers and students are thus unstable and exist in a quivering balance that may be upset at any moment (Pace and Hemmings, 2007, p. 4). Authority exists only in so far as subordinates accept its legitimacy and consent to do what is required of them (Weber, 1947 [1925]; Pace and Hemmings, 2007) and western societal views about the nature and exercise of authority have changed significantly in recent times. Drawing upon the work of Weber (1947 [1925]) and Metz (1978), Pace and Hemmings (2007) identify four differing types of authority. Firstly, there is formal authority that is traditionally granted to those in ruling positions. Obedience is expected as long as the person wielding the authority does not overstep the traditions and boundaries associated with their role. Teachers, acting in loco parentis, may expect students to comply with their instructions because of their formal role, and student transgression would only be anticipated if the teacher were to exceed what might be deemed by the society as reasonable. However, acceptance of formal authority has become less characteristic of many modern societies (Inglehart and Welzel, 2005). A second form of teacher authority, charismatic, is that beloved of Hollywood school-based movies. This is that exercised by those very few individuals whose powerful personalities set them apart from the majority of their colleagues. While such teachers often appear strikingly successful in persuading others (whether adults or children) to follow them, it is usually a serious mistake for other teachers to seek to emulate their actions in the hope of similar success. Indeed, because charismatic teachers are seemingly less bound by the conventional rules of conduct that apply to everyone else, blindly copying such individuals can lead to unanticipated and adverse outcomes. A further form of authority, bureaucratic (or legal-rational), is manifested in schools by the use of rules, laws and other written strictures. Thus in the UK we typically find a panoply of whole-school discipline policies, student report systems, individualised education plans, pastoral development plans and the like. While these can be a helpful means of gaining student acquiescence, they are no substitute for professional authority. It is the exercise of professional

authority, resulting from the deployment of the teachers own high-level expertise, that must surely be the preferred solution to the erosion of formal authority (see, for example, Pace, 2003). However, as will be discussed subsequently, identifying and making explicit the core elements of the teachers professional expertise and authority is a far from simple task

Aspects of teacher authority In my opinion, it is fallacious to argue that the skills underpinning teacher authority are always too subtle and context dependent to make explicit. While teachers tacit knowledge is often difficult to express (Stemler et al., 2006; Elliott et al., in press), one can still identify important aspects of skilled behaviour management that can help teachers struggling with even the most challenging children. Perhaps the fundamental point to emphasise is that skilled teachers tend not to have to react to problematic situations as often as do novices. Student teachers, for example, often seek to observe expert teachers reactions to acts of student indiscipline (so as to have insights into how best to respondwhen they encounter similar situations) rather than upon the very subtle, and less perceptible, behaviours that reduce the likelihood of such problems occurring in the first place. Some four decades ago, Kounin (1970) indicated that teachers adjudged to be highly skilled in relation to classroom management differed from their less effective colleagues not in their response to major acts of indiscipline but, rather, in their ability to prevent difficulties from occurring in the first place. Stough, Palmer and Leyva (1998) found that whereas novice teachers tended to be reactive, experienced teachers were more likely to be able to outline the preventive and anticipatory measures that they had taken to limit behaviour problems. However, because this knowledge is often tacit, the skills and behaviours involved may not necessarily be fully recognised by the practitioners themselves or easily communicated to others who are eager to learn from those with high-level expertise. The notion that skilled teachers prevent problems, rather than merely react to them, highlights the importance of sensitivity to classroom contexts. A major difficulty encountered by novice teachers concerns their relative inability to understand how events in their classrooms are likely to play out and, in the light of this, to monitor and guide activities accordingly (Doyle, 2006).

The dynamics are such that skilled classroom management cannot simply be reduced to a set of behavioural guidelines or classroom routines independent of situational cues. Recognising, understanding and interpreting the complex social phenomena that underpin particular classroom dynamics in any given situation can prove problematic for less skilled teachers. Perhaps this helps to explain why the Steer practitioner group was unable to go beyond generalities to articulate core aspects of teacher expertise, and instead tended to concentrate upon school practices and classroom routines that can be made explicit relatively easily (Berliner, 1988). This is an overly pessimistic position, however. While the tacit and contextualised nature of classroom practices renders it difficult to articulate a set of practices and techniques that would be sufficient to serve as a professional toolkit, it would be incorrect to state that the acquisition of all important professional knowledge of classroom management must be acquired wholly on the basis of the individuals reflection on extensive practice. There are many aspects of skilled professional practice that can be made explicit and which can help teachers to work more effectively, with even the most challenging young people. Indeed, the earlier Elton Report on Discipline in Schools (1989) made a rather more helpful attempt to itemise some important elements of teacher expertise. Clearly, subject knowledge is crucially important, as is the capacity to provide high-quality teaching and learning. However, the third element of teacher expertise, interpersonal skill, an element absolutely essential for ensuring teacher authority, is particularly likely to be underpinned by tacit knowledge (Elliott et al., in press). The final section of this article addresses this by briefly identifying and discussing some key aspects.

Key teacher interpersonal skills As noted above, it is important to recognise that highly skilled teacher practice involves engaging in a range of behaviours that, in themselves, appear relatively unimportant but, taken cumulatively, are key to prevention and, where necessary, defusion of problem behaviour. Where these behaviours are exhibited, students are likely to perceive that their teacher has high-level expertise and adjust their behaviour accordingly. Some of the most important elements of expert teacher behaviour were originally identified by Kounin (1970; Kounin and Doyle, 1975). Two of the most important for the establishment of professional authority are termed withitness and overlapping.

Withitness Withitness is a crucial aspect of teacher practice that is little understood by many practitioners. Essentially, it concerns the teachers awareness of everything that is taking place around them. A common metaphor for this is that of a lighthouse with the spotlight continually circulating. The expert teacher must ensure that students perceive this constant awareness but at the same time avoid falling into the trap of attempting to show this by responding orally to every minor transgression. Less expert teachers tend to have difficulties in this respect (Van Tartwijk, 1993). There are many reasons that might explain a failure to demonstrate withitness. Firstly, teachers may simply not be consciously aware of its importance. Secondly, constantly monitoring the classroom environment, making sense of the mass of information that is observed and determining whether to react or not, will necessarily place significant demands upon the teachers processing ability (Feldon, 2007). Cognitive overload occurs when an individual is swamped by excessive demands involving their internal cognitions and the processing of external stimuli (Sweller, 1989). Here the dice are loaded against the novice, for as teachers become more experienced, patterns of classroom behaviour can be recognised more easily (akin to an expert chess player who can quickly grasp the complexities of a chessboard position) and they typically need to expend less mental effort on how best to respond. The novice is hamstrung even further by the need to devote greater energy towards consideration of pedagogical and procedural aspects. The need to focus ones mind on the unfolding requirements of the lesson can lead the novice to withdraw their attention from other aspects of the classroom. By so doing, they maximise their processing power by freeing themselves from the classroom environment with all its myriad distractions, but at a significant cost. Experienced teachers have a significant advantage in that many aspects of their teaching, for example framing questions and explaining difficult concepts, are more routinised and thus likely toinvolve fewer cognitive demands. They are also more adept at differentiating between important and unimportant stimuli (Sabers et al., 1991). Thus they will typically be freer to scan the classroom environment, make better use of environmental cues (Feldon, 2007) and be more able to send subtle, often non-verbal, signals to the students. The need to process such a large and diverse amount of information renders the

maintenance of withitness highly demanding and even expert teachers are unlikely to maintain a high level of environmental awareness throughout the day. Novice teachers, or others who are encountering behavior difficulties, tend to find life in the classroom particularly physically and mentally demanding and thus are more likely to struggle to maintain high levels of vigilance. Perhaps the most profound and problematic reason for a failure to demonstrate withitness stems from a sense of helplessness to manage challenging situations as they arise. Where teachers are concerned about their capacity to manage the class, they may be tempted to avoid scrutinizing the classroom and, instead, focus upon interacting with a small number of students at a time, particularly those who tend to be relatively compliant and responsive. Such behavior may serve to reduce teacher anxiety in the short term, yet will almost certainly lead to greater difficulty over time. It is important to stress that withitness involves more than simply nipping problems in the bud. While high levels of vigilance should enable the teacher to prevent emerging difficulties, what is ultimately more important is the subtle message about teacher expertise that is perceived by the students. Further discussion of the issue of withitness is available on the following website: [http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=y9C12fXC-bE&feature=related].

Overlapping A second key skill identified by Kounin is known as overlapping. This term describes the teachers ability to undertake, or manage, multiple events taking place simultaneously. The teacher considered to have high-level expertise is one who appears to the onlooker to be capable of handling such situations smoothly, whatever the exigencies involved. In many ways, the expert teacher resembles a conductor in an orchestra who co-ordinates the efforts of the ensemble and who is undeterred by any untoward events. As is the case for withitness, managing complex situations with minimal difficulty not only helps the current lesson to progress more smoothly, it also conveys subtle and transcendent messages about the teachers professional expertise.

Non-verbal behaviour

A key component of teacher authority that can be relatively easily identified and made explicit is non-verbal behaviour (Neill, 1991). While there are differing ways of conceptualising this, one perspective conceives of it as being signaled by means of five channels (Harper et al., 1978): space, body, face, visual behaviour and voice. In any interpersonal context, control over the use of physical and visual space communicates powerful messages about status and authority. Teachers non-verbal behaviour will be a means of demonstrating their confidence and sense of professional authority (Reynolds, 1992). (Note that their portrayal may not necessarily always be valid indeed, the skilled teacher may often be eager to present a picture of assurance that belies their true uncertainties.) The more the teacher facilitates visual links with the students while projecting a powerful voice behaviour that is rarer in novice teachers the more likely he or she is to be perceived as dominant (Van Tartwijk, 1993). Of course, such behaviour needs to be tempered by the particular context; sometimes overly dominant behaviour can be perceived as provocative by students. Novice teachers or those encountering difficulties are more likely to send out messages that undermine their authority (Neill, 1991). While it is widely known that relaxed body positions are associated with high status and confidence, teachers who find themselves challenged or intimidated will often find it difficult to avoid the adoption of tense, rigid postures. Their arms may be crossed in front of their bodies or, alternatively, they may wave their hands vigorously in front of them. Hand movements to the face are often perceived as being indicative of anxiety or uncertainty. In contrast, drawing up and stiffening the body, or putting hands on hips with legs astride can appear aggressive and potentially hostile. A common tendency for teachers who lack confidence is to use speech rather than more subtle non-verbal messages for the purposes of control. Expert teachers will tend to respond to any unwelcome behaviours by sending out unobtrusive messages (via eye contact or facial expression, by slowly moving towards the source of the problem or by the use of subtle gestures). In so doing, they seek to avoid the risk of disrupting the lesson by diverting the attention of other students (Erickson and Mohatt, 1982) or by inducing an unhelpful response perhaps caused by a perceived need on the part of the child to save face in front of peers. Of course, the use of voice is an essential aspect of teacher expertise. The expert teacher understands that their voice is a tool that can be employed to help emphasise their authority; for the less skilled practitioner, it can be a means to betray their anxieties, emotions and uncertainties. Shouting, vocal hesitations and stammers, monotone

delivery and rising pitch, particularly when there are signs of challenge, are all aspects that may serve to increase the likelihood of student disengagement and confrontation. What some fail to grasp is that, in challenging situations, a softer tone, albeit signalling a strength of intent and purpose, often carries greater authority than a raised voice.

Control over communication Authority is usually greater in the individual who is in control of the content and flow of verbal exchanges. Children may probe their teachers authority by asking questions (even when not interested in the answers), making unnecessary requests, ignoring questions or instructions, by showing minimal attention or by delaying their responses to the teacher. Handling such behaviours effectively is another key skill. While expert teachers do not necessarily seek to dominate verbal interaction, and are often happy to grant students the initiative, they ensure that all parties recognize who is ultimately in control. Teachers with less expertise,who are often overly responsive to their students in the hope that this will help engender positive relationships, are more likely to find themselves constantly reacting to their students, rather than taking the lead (Robertson, 1990). Over time, the teacher will be perceived as lacking the expertise and strength to manage the complexities of classroom interaction.

References Support for Learning Volume 24 Number 4 2009 The Author(s). Journal compilation 2009 NASEN. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and350 Main St, Malden, MA, 02148, USA. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com