Family, school, and jurisdictional authority over education

This paper discusses how to conceptualize and analyze the relationship between the social institutions of the family and the school, which both claim authority over education. Not much work has hitherto been invested in conceptualizing historical changes in this relationship. Typically these institutions are simply juxtaposed; they are expected to work ‘together’ and ‘primary’ socialization in family settings is expected to be complemented with ‘secondary’ socialization in schools. We show, however, that schools have become increasingly able to define the norms and standards against which the ‘good family’ is assessed. Building on examples of ‘boundary work’ and of ‘jurisdictional conflicts’ between family and school, we argue that the school system currently reduces the family to a kind of preparatory institution, whose yardstick, as far as education is concerned, ultimately is their children’s success at school. We discuss the basis of the increasing jurisdictional authority of schools and argue that a better understanding of the jurisdictional conflicts will allow us to make the differences and the lack of coordination between both institutions pedagogically fruitful for children.