The Feral Classroom

First published in 1983, The Feral Classroom argues that the experience of schooling needs to be understood in terms of peer interaction in the classroom. Students’ interaction mediates the significance of the curriculum and teacher, and is, in its own right, a major agent of socialisation.

The study reported in the book was conducted in an Australian state high school. It employs ethnographic techniques focused on students’ accounts of relations and activities with classmates. Concepts embo...