Education and power are closely linked, because every school decision about what to teach, how to judge students, and who gets which opportunities reflects someone’s authority to choose. Recognizing that link helps parents, students, and teachers understand why schools work as they do and how they might work better.
Talking about power in schools can sound cynical, but it need not be. Power is simply the ability to shape outcomes. It can be used fairly or unfairly, openly or quietly. This article looks at where power sits in education and how it can be exercised responsibly.
Every Lesson Plan Is a Decision
A teacher planning a unit chooses which topics to cover, which texts to read, and how much time to give each idea. Students rarely see these choices, but they shape what the class learns and what it never discusses.
Above the teacher, other people make larger decisions. School boards, education ministries, textbook publishers, and testing organizations influence what appears in classrooms. Their choices determine which history is told, which skills are tested, and which subjects get funding.
None of this is sinister in itself. Somebody must decide, because no course can include everything. The important questions are who decides, how they reach their decisions, and whether the people affected have any voice in the process.
Asking those questions is the starting point for understanding education and power. It moves the discussion from personal blame toward the structures that shape every school.
Layers of Power in a School System
Power in education operates at several levels at once. Seeing these layers helps explain why change can be slow and why teachers sometimes feel constrained.
National and State Authorities
Governments usually set broad rules: curriculum standards, graduation requirements, teacher licensing, and testing policies. In the United States, much of this authority rests with states, while other countries centralize it nationally. These rules vary widely, so families should check their own state or national education authority for specifics.
Funding decisions made at this level also shape class sizes, materials, and support services.
Districts and School Leaders
Districts and principals translate broad rules into local practice. They choose textbooks, set schedules, allocate staff, and decide which programs receive support. A principal’s priorities can strongly influence a school’s culture, from discipline approaches to the emphasis placed on arts or athletics.
Parents can often influence decisions at this level through school boards and advisory councils.
Teachers and Students
Inside the classroom, teachers hold daily authority over grades, seating, discussion, and discipline. Students hold power too, though less formally. Their engagement, cooperation, and peer culture shape what actually happens in a lesson, no matter how carefully it was planned.
Good teaching often involves sharing some classroom power with students in deliberate, structured ways.
The Hidden Curriculum
Sociologists use the term hidden curriculum to describe lessons that schools teach without stating them. These include habits like waiting for permission to speak, accepting judgment from authority, and competing for rewards. Students absorb these lessons through daily routines rather than direct instruction.
Some hidden lessons are useful. Punctuality and cooperation help people succeed in work and community life. Others may be less helpful, such as learning that only certain kinds of intelligence are valued or that questions are unwelcome.
The hidden curriculum can also differ between schools. Some students practice leading discussions and making choices, while others practice following detailed rules. Over time, these differences can prepare young people for very different roles in adult life.
Teachers who become aware of the hidden curriculum can examine their routines and decide which unspoken lessons they want to keep.
Thinkers Who Studied Power and Schooling
Several scholars have shaped how educators think about power. Their ideas offer different lenses rather than a single verdict, and each has supporters and critics.
- Michel Foucault examined how institutions like schools use observation, examination, and timetables to shape behavior and create discipline.
- Pierre Bourdieu showed how schools can reward the habits and knowledge of advantaged families, helping reproduce social position.
- Paulo Freire criticized teaching that treats students as passive containers for facts, warning that it discourages them from questioning their circumstances.
- John Dewey stressed that schools should model democratic life, distributing responsibility rather than concentrating it.
Teachers do not need to adopt any one framework. Reading across these thinkers simply helps them notice how ordinary practices, such as exams or seating charts, carry assumptions about authority and fairness.
Testing, Grades, and Gatekeeping
Assessment is one of the most visible forms of power in education. Grades and test scores influence course placement, scholarships, college admission, and employment. A single number can open some doors and close others for a student.
Because the stakes are high, the design of assessments matters. Whoever writes a test decides which knowledge counts as standard and which wording is assumed to be clear. Those choices can quietly favor some students, so fair assessment asks who reviewed the items and who was consulted.
Gatekeeping also happens through placement decisions. Tracking students into advanced or basic courses shapes what they learn next. When those decisions rely on narrow information, capable students can be held back without anyone intending harm.
Many schools now review placement data regularly and offer students clear routes to move into more challenging classes when they show readiness.
Power in Everyday Classroom Moments
Some of the most important forms of power in school are small and constant. Who gets called on, whose answers receive praise, and whose behavior gets noticed first all shape how students see themselves as learners.
Teachers are often unaware of these patterns. A teacher may call more often on students who sit near the front or who answer quickly, leaving quieter students with fewer chances to speak. Over a year, those small differences add up.
Simple tools can reveal the pattern. Some teachers ask a colleague to observe a lesson and track participation, or they use name cards to ensure everyone is invited to contribute. The goal is not perfect equality, but conscious and fair attention.
Feedback carries power too. Comments that focus on effort and specific next steps tell students they can improve, while vague judgments can quietly signal that some learners are simply not capable.
Legitimate Authority Versus Domination
Not all power in education is a problem. Children need adults who set boundaries, explain ideas, and correct mistakes. A classroom without clear authority is often chaotic and unsafe, and students in such classrooms usually learn less.
The key distinction is between legitimate authority and domination. Legitimate authority is transparent, explained, and aimed at students’ growth. Domination is arbitrary, unexplained, or used mainly to serve the person who holds it.
A teacher who says, “We revise drafts because writing improves through feedback,” is using legitimate authority. A teacher who punishes questions because they feel challenged is drifting toward domination. Students notice the difference quickly.
Families and students tend to accept rules more readily when the reasons behind them are clear and consistently applied.
Ways Schools Can Share Power Fairly
Schools that take power seriously look for practical ways to give students, families, and teachers a meaningful voice. These practices strengthen trust without removing necessary authority.
- Student councils with real responsibilities, such as advising on school events or rules.
- Clear grading criteria shared in advance so students know how they will be judged.
- Family advisory groups consulted on decisions about curriculum and policy.
- Transparent placement processes that explain how students move into different courses.
- Teacher input into professional development and curriculum choices.
Shared decision-making takes time, and not every choice can be made collectively. Even so, the habit of explaining decisions and inviting feedback makes schools more accountable to the communities they serve.
Using Your Own Power Wisely in the Classroom
Teachers can start by noticing the decisions they make each day, from who gets called on to how mistakes are handled. Small patterns, repeated over a year, shape students’ sense of their own power.
Explain your rules and invite questions about them. When students understand the purpose behind expectations, they are more likely to follow them willingly and to suggest improvements that make the classroom work better for everyone.
Offer structured choices where possible, such as selecting a book from a list or deciding how to present a project. These choices build responsibility while keeping learning goals intact.
Review your own assessments for fairness, and ask a colleague to look too. Fresh eyes often spot hidden barriers that the author of a test cannot see.