The schoolbag, mirror of school history and its contradictions
From the outset, the schoolbag has taken on a symbolic role that goes far beyond its primary logistical function. As part of strategies for social distinction, it is regularly at the heart of debates on student well-being, reflecting the educational issues of the time.
Sylvain Wagnon, University of Montpellier
Every back-to-school season brings a new round of supply lists, and the inevitable schoolbag. This familiar object has been accompanying students for over two centuries. Its shape, weight, contents and even design tell a story: that of the school, of the links between parents and the educational institution, and of social, cultural and economic developments.
In what way does the schoolbag, as a material object and pedagogical symbol, reflect the transformations of the school and the current challenges of education?
The historical and symbolic object of schooling
The primary function of the schoolbag is simple: to transport school supplies - textbooks, notebooks, pencil cases - between school and home. However, from its very beginnings, it went beyond this logistical utility. It became a visual emblem of the student, a marker of belonging to the school world.
In the 19th century, they were handcrafted from canvas or wood, and in the 20th century they became industrialized objects. In the 1960s, leather gave way to lighter, more affordable materials. From the 1980s onwards, it became a consumer item, with the appearance of schoolbags featuring cartoon characters such as Goldorak, Barbie and later Pokémon or Diddl.
The schoolbag plays a part in strategies of socialization and social distinction ("T'as ton tann's", as the 1980s cult advert put it), with high-end ergonomic models or gendered models. In many cases, the choice of schoolbag becomes an issue of one-upmanship and conflict between children and parents.
In some countries, the schoolbag is elevated to the rank of heritage: the Japanese randoseru, offered at the start of elementary school, is an example of a ritual object, standardized and handed down, often kept for a lifetime. Conversely, it can also be a means of generational distinction, personalization (patches, pins, key rings) and instagrammable style.
With the technological evolutions of the 21st century, it is doubling as an electronic or digital and connected binder, integrating a multitude of software and documents, thanks to a tablet or USB key.
Textbooks, homework and school transmissions
Beyond its form, the contents of the schoolbag speak volumes about the educational choices of an era. It is the material reflection of a pedagogy based on transmission, where knowledge circulates via textbooks, exercise books and homework. A mobile support for an educational model, it is also the vector between parents and the school institution. A well-prepared, tidy schoolbag, containing all the supplies required, as well as well-maintained and protected textbooks, notably with book covers, is a sign of parental involvement for the school institution. https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1MKAdSZ2ts?wmode=transparent&start=0 1965: Il y a quoi dans ton cartable? (INA Officiel).
Since the middle of the 20th century, far from becoming lighter, the schoolbag has continued to grow in weight and size, with the arrival of new large-format notebooks, individualized follow-up booklets, correspondence notebooks and digital media. Some pupils even slip in a tablet provided by their local authority.
But despite the evolution of teaching methods and practices - which are now more active and student-centered, emphasizing personal work as part of the learning process - the schoolbag is still very much with us. These approaches, which could have reduced the weight of the schoolbag by limiting the intensive use of textbooks and homework, have not brought about any real transformation. The schoolbag remains the material symbol of school, of work to be done both at school and at home.
The schoolbag also reveals deep-seated inequalities. Some children have complete, ergonomic, well-filled bags; others have worn-out, incomplete or sometimes empty bags. These disparities reflect inequalities in access to educational resources. Anti-poverty policies - such as the distribution of school supplies at the start of the school year by local authorities or associations - often use the schoolbag as an indicator of vulnerability.
Physical overload and cognitive fatigue
From the 1990s onwards, the question of schoolbag weight became a public health issue. Medical warnings multiplied: back pain, muscle fatigue, postural disorders. For over twenty years, several ministerial circulars have recommended that the weight of the schoolbag should not exceed 10% of the child's body weight, a standard that is still rarely respected in schools today.
In response to these warnings, material solutions were put in place, such as wheeled schoolbags, ergonomic backpacks, shorter timetables and school lockers. Awareness-raising campaigns, notably by parents' federations, were launched, but the effects remained uneven. Because while the container is changing, the content remains dense: heavy textbooks, multiple notebooks, artistic or sports equipment, digital tools. https://www.youtube.com/embed/N06s22L4C3g?wmode=transparent&start=0 "Le poids des cartables des collégiens" (France 3 Grand Est, 2021).
The schoolbag thus becomes the symptom of a school system that does not take sufficient account of children's well-being. Content overload and the constant pressure of grading are literally and figuratively weighing down on pupils' shoulders.
The schoolbag thus embodies a profound tension between, on the one hand, the ideal of a school capable of adapting to the rapid changes in our society, more attentive to individual needs and the child's overall development, and, on the other, the inertia of an educational model that continues to reproduce inequalities and impose a traditional vision of learning.
The schoolbag of the future
The arrival of digital technologies has profoundly reconfigured the function of the schoolbag. No longer limited to carrying notebooks and textbooks, it now contains laptops, tablets, headphones, chargers and other indispensable digital tools.
The widespread use of digital work environments (ENT) in schools is transforming homework management, assessment tracking and communication between teachers, students and families.
Some educational experiments even go so far as to envisage a school without a physical binder, where all resources would be dematerialized and stored in the cloud. However, this model encounters several limitations: the persistent digital divide, the high cost of equipment, unequal access to tools, and cultural, symbolic and pedagogical resistance to an entirely virtual education. In reality, the materiality of schoolwork remains dominant, and the schoolbag, in its traditional or hybrid forms, remains a central element of everyday school life.
And yet, the schoolbag is evolving. They are becoming more ecological and ethical. Some manufacturers now use recycled materials and promote models that are themselves recyclable.
The schoolbag remains an essential school object, a privileged witness to the school and its contradictions. It invites us to reflect on what it means to learn, transmit, teach and educate. Considering the evolution of this object, wouldn't it also be a way of questioning the school model we want to build for tomorrow?
Sylvain Wagnon, Professor of Education, Faculty of Education, University of Montpellier
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.