Time as a disciplinary technology in American public high schools from 1850--2000: A Foucault analytic history

This study had two purposes. The first was to use Michel Foucault's historical analytics to describe the evolution of class scheduling in American high schools from 1850 to the present. The second, using Foucault's three modes of objectification, was to examine a “traditional” (six fifty-five minute periods) class schedule in light of the fundamental purpose of American public education—the preparation of students for citizenship in a democratic society.;The historical analysis revealed that the traditional schedule evolved and became institutionalized within the social, political, economic, and legal contexts of industrialization. This historical period became known as the Age of Efficiency; whereby, efficiency was achieved through the application of principles of “scientific management.” Consistent with research that shows schooling structures tend to be isomorphic with the values of the broader society, school administration became influenced by the “cult of efficiency.” Although for more than a century reformers attempted to penetrate the hegemony of scientific management, the Carnegie unit, based essentially on the traditional class schedule and slight variations, remained firmly established as the standard for academic course credits and the justification for class scheduling.;Students learn from their total schooling experience, including both the formal, differentiated curriculum and processes and procedures explicit and implicit in administrative practices. This second influence on learning is part of what is referred to as “the hidden curriculum.” Ostensibly, at least, schooling practices are intended to optimize academic learning. An application of Foucault's three modes of objectification to a traditional class schedule revealed contradictions between the intent and effect of the traditional scheduling. Individual learning-needs become secondary to the needs of the school to maintain order and control in the name of “efficiency.” Because students must conform to the schedule, they have no control of the time relative to their formal academic self-formation. As a result of class scheduling dimension of the hidden curriculum, the docile student has only narrowly bounded opportunities to acquire an education consistent with democratic ideals.