Protocols of silence in educational discourse

Abstract

For the past number of years, experienced teachers have sometimes come to visit my office with a sense that they are working outside the official educational system. In many ways these teachers see themselves as subversives, acting on behalf of their students to deliver a better educational experience, but in many cases they feel that they are working outside the norm of the educational system. This raises the question about the impact of educational discourse on the public and the degree of freedom such public discourses allow to teachers or other professionals who find themselves dedicated to norms of practice that they suspect are not endorsed by all. This article considers what Foucault meant when he wrote that discourse points to regularities, ‘discursive regularities’, rules and norms that belong to the discourse itself but not necessarily to those who use it or try to break free from it. It examines further Foucault's notion of a discursive regularity and suggests that in Ireland three protocols of speech govern both what is sayable and what is unsayable. These are analysed in terms of rubric, paradigm and noise. A brief description of these ideas is given before attempting to see how each of these protocols (if valid) might contribute to the muting of educational debate generally and the subsequent sense of being marginalised that some teachers have expressed.

Keywords:

• protocol
• discourse
• Foucault
• paradigm rubric

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the contribution of several blind reviewers and also Professors Denis O Sullivan and Kathy Hall in helping me bring more clarity to my position.