紀律危機還是教育危機? 論師道尊嚴與學校「權威」之隕落

Abstract

This paper argues that the "law and order" problem of the young in Hong Kong is not and should not be construed as one of discipline. Rather, it should be understood as a reflection of a deeper crisis of educational (mal-)practice. Central to an adequate understanding of this crisis is a re-conceptualization of the notion of "authority." The paper maintains that the dominant conception of “authority” draws too much from a one-sided understanding of Max Weber. The conception fortifies a behavioural and/or neo-positivist approach whereby legitimacy is either dissolved into acquiescence on the part of those subject to power, or reduced to a collection of private attitudes that can be measured by means of a questionnaire. This misunderstanding of "authority" is, in turn, related to the reification and de-politicization of "problem pupils" or "marginalized youth". Only by recognizing that the disrespect of school and teacher "authority" has been a result of their respective loss of legitimacy (in its original sense) can we really begin to conceptualize the causation of the crisis and figure out appropriate remedies.