Study on the Function of the Class from the Perspective of Niklas Luhmann: The Possibilities for Replacement of Face-to-Face School Education with Non-Face-to-Face Lessons

Abstract

 In recent years, attention has been focused on the possibility of utilizing information and communication technology in education due to the technological development of information equipment using the Internet; it seems possible that non-face-to-face lessons will spread rapidly. However, little research has taken place on the extent to which conventional face-to-face school education can be completely replaced by such non-face-to-face lessons. This study focuses on the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann's theory of the education system, especially his discussion of the function of the class, and examines the problems and limitations of education without “classes.” “Class” here means a learning community supported by the relationships between teachers and pupils.

 In Luhmann's understanding, the function of education is to achieve “banalization of the personality” by the pupils' socialization, that is, by keeping their behavior within a certain foreseeable range. School education transforms the results of socialization determined by the pupils' origins and families into academic achievements that depend on the pupils' degree of effort, and sends the pupils out as members of other social systems (as a personal system that supports functional systems). School education is a part of social systems.

 In order to fulfill this function, the pupils are separated from other systems such as their families, enclosed in a system called the class, and introduced into an asymmetric teacher-student relationship. This process is supported by the class as a system. It is important to maintain specific and continuous interactions, to motivate learning, and to make regular records (selected) while erasing their unrecorded past. Furthermore, various ancillary systems are indispensable in order to secure the teachers responsible for such activities and to allow them to function smoothly (regardless of their ability).

Based on Luhmann's theory of the class, non-face-to-face classes cannot directly replace face-to-face school education unless the function of the conventional class is fulfilled. Of course, this does not deny the meaning and effect of non-face-to-face lessons, and it is also true that they have many roles to play. However, the traditional class system continues to play a significant role in the socialization of students. It is important to recognize these points anew when considering how face-to-face school education and non-face-to-face lessons may coexist.