Institutionalization in education was a fundamental concern for Ivan Illich. The arguments of the Illich in "Deschooling Society" seem rather obviously naive to many people yet in my opinion they are based on some quite profound arguments about knowledge and learning. One of the most important effects of the rise of the deschooling movement has been to make people question the merits of something that had always been seen as beneficial- schooling. Schooling refers to what goes on in educational institutions, formal organization set up in order to transmit certain kinds of knowledge and values. What is central to Illich's concern is the creation of dependency on this system and the resulting control. This presentation will examine and respond to Ivan Illich's thoughts and writing in "Deschooling Society," as learning becomes controlled within the confines of institutions.
             For Illich, "school" is the age specific teacher related process requiring full time attendance at an obligatory curriculum and it is this process whereby teachers relate pupils to an obligatory curriculum," which is at the heart of the argument as I see it (Illich,1970,25). With institutions, many aspects of our life have been taken over by professionals and control is superimposed and extended. Our ability to deal with many aspects of life on our own is diminished. We have institutionalized our lives and that model has become the norm. Unfortunately "the good life", identified and nourished by community, has placed false needs and expectations defined and controlled by those outside. As we react to the associated entrapment and attempt to assert our autonomy, we are more limited, not freer.
             Yet surely specialist schools have brought great advantages. Schools can employ the services of experts, professional pedagogues trained in the best ways of teaching, curriculum experts who can combine meaningfu...