Familia y escuela: Algunas reflexiones sobre la diferenciación interna del sistema de la educación

The focus of professionalization in the system of education has traditionally been on teachers in the school context. Much less attention has been devoted to the parents and family education. This focus on teaching and its professionalization has certainly to do with the fact that (almost) everyone can become parent, but that entry into teaching can be regulated and controlled. But the professionalization of teaching not only affects education in schools. The professionalization of teaching has also modified the role expectations with regard to parents and parenting. Teachers are not just acting in loco parentis. Consider the impact on the family of the temporal organization of the school day and the school year. Consider the impact of home work or (re)marks on report cards. Consider the effects of institutionalized ceremonies, such as parent-teacher consultations in primary and secondary schools, etc. The different interfaces between the family and the school have initiated a process of “schooling the family”. In this paper, we analyse how the confrontation between the “natural” authority of the parents and the “learned” authority of the teachers actually takes place.