Quiet Classrooms, Educational Soundscapes, and the Power of Silence: Towards an Acoustic History of Education...

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Pieter Verstraete (KU Leuven, Belgium)

Quiet Classrooms, Educational Soundscapes, and the Power of Silence

Towards an Acoustic History of Education

Pieter Verstraete (KU Leuven, Belgium)

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English

Routledge
29 April 2025

Social, group or collective psychology; Education: care & counselling of students; Teacher training; Teaching skills & techniques

Series: Routledge Research in Education

This highly novel book provides an exploration of the role of silence in the school setting and interrogates the value of silence and quiet in contemporary educational practices, looking at pedagogies and classroom practice to guide this increasingly popular subdiscipline of the history of education.

Arguably the first contribution written in English on the educational value of silence within the history of education more broadly, this book interrogates the way in which we encounter and label sounds and noises within the classroom, and the ways in which these have come to dictate relationships between teachers and pupils in our contemporary society. The chapters investigate sociocultural reasons for a Western problematization of silence and shyness of children, and the wider impact on class participation and treatment. The issues around children’s sense of identity and teachers’ authority are explored in relation to silence as a powerful tool for a progressive understanding of learning. Ultimately, the book will guide thinking around educational, acoustic surroundings and provide alternative vocabulary to talk about educational soundscapes and the real-term impact on our learning environments.

Providing a novel and nuanced framework for studying schools as acoustic or sound spaces, the book will be of interest to researchers, scholars, and academics in the fields of history of education, curriculum studies, and the theories of learning more broadly.

Translated by Emmeline Burdett on the basis of the original Dutch edition, Leuven University Press, 2022

By: Pieter Verstraete (KU Leuven Belgium)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 430g
ISBN: 9781032694689
ISBN 10: 1032694688
Series: Routledge Research in Education
Pages: 134
Publication Date: 29 April 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Pieter Verstraete is Senior Professor in the History of Education, Research Centre for Education, Culture and Society, KU Leuven, Belgium.

Reviews for Quiet Classrooms, Educational Soundscapes, and the Power of Silence: Towards an Acoustic History of Education

""In this book, Pieter Verstraete provides a long-needed history of silence in classrooms. Does silence facilitate learning or enforce discipline? Does it support the shy student or suppress the extravert? Is a noisy classroom a joyous expression of educational engagement or an impenetrable barrier to order and thought? The book’s answer to these questions is: yes. It turns out that silence provides a clear window into the multiple and conflicting aims that educators have sought to accomplish in classrooms over the years."" David F. Labaree, retired Professor of Education, Stanford University, USA