In: Semiotics Theory and Applications ISBN 978-1-61728-992-
Editor: Steven C. Hamel © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Chapter 1
SIGNIFYING THE TRANSITION FROM MODERN TO
POST-MODERN SCHOOLING THROUGH ANALYZING
CHANGES IN THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF SCHOOLS
Kostas Dimopoulos
Learning Materials, Dept of Social and Educational Policy,
University of Peloponnese, GreeceABSTRACT
The objective of this chapter is to present how changes in the material culture of
schools can signify the transition from modern to post modern schooling. The material
culture of schools is perceived here as consisting of the architecture of the corresponding
buildings as well as of the material objects (i.e. furniture and equipment) within these
buildings. We draw on the key notions of classification and framing borrowed from the
seminal work of Basil Bernstein in the field of sociology of education which translate
relations of power and control respectively.
Classification examines the relations between categories, whether these categories
are between institutions, social groups, discourses, or practices. By definition, strong
classification formulates well-defined boundaries, whereas weak classification results in
blurred or more permeable boundaries between such categories. In other words strong
classification is predicated on the rule ̳things must be kept apart‘ while weak
classification on the rule ̳things must be put together‘. In this chapter we are especially
interested in exploring the symbolic boundaries which are inscribed in the form of
material boundaries in the design of school space between categories like: a) school as an
institution and its social environment, b) different social groups acting within it, c)
different knowledge domains (subjects) and d) different practices.
Framing refers to the controls on communication that take place within school. If the
material culture of a school promotes explicitly regulated use or to put it differently the
criteria for competent use of school space are both explicit and specific, framing is
strong. Framing is weak in the case that such regulation is either absent or covert. Email: [email protected]