The Teacher in the Authority System of the Public School

The teacher conceives of herself as a professional with specialized training and knowledge in the field of her school activity: teaching and taking care of children. Problems of authority appear whenever parents challenge this conception, and are potentially present whenever parents become involved in the school's operation. They become so involved because the teacher attempts to make use of them to bolster her authority over the child, or because they become aware of some event about which they wish to complain. The principal is expected to "back the teacher up"—support her authority—in all cases of parental "interference." This is, for teachers, one of the major criteria of a "good" principal. The principal's administrative functions provide him with his most commonly used sanctions. Teachers believe they ought to cooperate to defend themselves against authority attacks and to refrain from directly endangering the authority of another teacher.