The "Ghosts" of Social Structures.

One way of understanding the relationship between structural imperatives and classroom interaction is to adopt Meighan's concept of "haunting". He argues that when teachers and pupils enter a classroom for the purpose of education, they are surrounded by the "ghosts" of such things as:

That is, the physical environment within which the teaching and learning process takes place - whether the room is light, warm and inviting or, alternatively, cold, dark and off-putting.

The knowledge that is transmitted is, in effect, determined by the nature of the information used in the classroom.

For example, if the writers of books adopt sexist or racist language, these ideas (in addition to the formal knowledge content of the books) will also be transmitted to pupils in terms of assumptions about gender, ethnicity, etc.

This is significant in relation to, for example, Bernstein's concept of elaborated and restricted codes of speech. It may also apply to the different "levels of language" pupils are expected to master and display at different levels of their education - a psychology A-level student, for example, who cannot understand or master the "technical language" (or jargon) surrounding the subject at this level will find it very difficult to succeed.

Employers differentiate people on the basis of socially-recognised qualifications. Teachers are, therefore, constrained in their teaching by the ghost of examinations. Pupils have to be taught against a background of preparation for formal examinations (they have to learn the techniques involved, what constitutes valid knowledge and so forth).

In the above, therefore, Meighan notes some of the ways (there are probably many more) the "hidden curriculum" surrounds both teachers and their pupils whenever they enter a school classroom and, by extension, influences and controls their normative behaviour.