This paper develops a phenomenological framework for exploring how time is experienced in classroom interaction, drawing on Alfred Schutz’s theory of signs, symbols, and multiple realities. While critical studies have shown how clock time shapes schooling through efficiency, standardization, and acceleration, less attention has been given to how educational time is lived as meaningful, shared, or alienating in everyday practice. Responding to calls by scholars such as Barbara Adam for time studies rooted in Schutz, this paper clarifies and operationalizes his concepts of time, symbols, and multiple realities for empirical investigation in educational settings. The paper uncovers how the interplay of inner and outer time shapes communicative actions in education and identifies three interrelated temporal dimensions in schooling: Pragmatic time describes how classroom schedules, deadlines, and temporal artefacts enable students and teachers to coordinate actions, project into future states, and reflect on past efforts relative to shared goals. Intersubjective time highlights how embodied, vocal, and mimetic signs between teachers and students facilitate “we-relations” characterized by mutual synchronization. Symbolic time explores how school subjects and teaching materials function as symbols that open access to distinct realities, allowing students to engage with temporal experiences that extend beyond their immediate situation. By integrating Schutz’s phenomenology of time with educational practice, the paper contributes to rethink temporality as a dynamic, multi-dimensional aspect of social life and pedagogy.
Malene Engsig Brodersen (Thu,) studied this question.