ERIC Number: EJ1455595
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-0782
EISSN: EISSN-1747-7581
Laughter and Classroom Boundaries
Language and Education, v39 n1 p154-172 2025
While once forbidden in classrooms, laughter is increasingly encouraged as contributing to a positive learning environment. However, analyses of laughter in conversation show that laughter performs multiple social functions, some of which are not necessarily positive. Applying this lens, this study investigates the interactional functions of laughter in Israeli upper-primary classrooms. Using micro-ethnographic, multimodal methods, we analyzed 27 laughter events drawn from 35 lessons taught by five teachers in four classrooms. We found that student laughter was for the most part treated as undesirable and occurred rarely. When it did occur, laughter primarily played a role in marking, maintaining, or negotiating symbolic and social classroom boundaries. Along with nonverbal cues, such as eye contact and body language, students' and teachers' laughter served multiple functions in relation to these boundaries, including emphasizing social boundaries, subverting teacher authority, bypassing norms, and responding to transgressions.
Descriptors: Humor, Elementary School Students, Student Behavior, Behavior Standards, Social Behavior, Foreign Countries, Nonverbal Communication, Teacher Behavior, Grade 4, Grade 5
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades; Grade 5; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Israel
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A