The construction of the teacher's authority in pedagogic discourse

Abstract

This article examines the discursive construction of the authoritative identity of teachers in relation to a number of issues in the classroom context, including identity negotiation, pedagogic discourse and teacher-student power relationship. A variety of classroom teacher talks are analyzed from a discourse analytical perspective, revealing the core constituent parts of the teacher's authoritative identity and the constructive process of the authoritative discourse. The analysis shows that different combinations of the constituent parts make up distinctive frameworks of the teacher's authoritative status. The discursive choices that emerge in the negotiation of the authoritative identity result in a strong or a weak form of authority. The article concludes with a discussion of the relevance of the teacher's authoritative identity to pedagogic discourse and teacher-student power relations.