Notes towards "Patterns in group behaviour found in individuals within total institutions"

Years ago, I used to think that schools were structured exactly like prisons. The "inmates" were not allowed to leave the property, civil behaviour was rewarded (such as obeying the "authorities," or teachers and administrators) and deviant behaviour was punished. Last night I was thinking that schools don't resemble prisons, but rather the "clients" within schools and prisons are subjected to the same structure and behave much the same way (a strict hierarchical structure composed of small groups bound by ethnicity, class or personal tastes) because they are people confined to a kind of total institution. Because their day-to-day lives are so regulated and regimented, the same kind of behavioural pattern, modified in accordance to the socio-economic environment and the desired outcome of the total institution (prisons isolate offenders and attempt to rehabilitate them, schools educate children and contribute to their socialization; although, both institutions are agents of socialization), emerge within both institutions.

What got me thinking about this was the difference between public schools and post-secondary schools. If schools were prisons, then what about universities? Since post-secondary institutions are schools, then the same behavioural pattern should be apparent. My hypothesis is that the behaviour found in schools/prisons do not emerge in post-secondary environments. The difference between the two is the relative freedom granted to post-secondary students: they can leave the campus, choose their courses and regulate their own daily routines. Note the descriptor used: "institution." I should clarify how the terms are used in this instance. Institutions can be formal like schools, or informal like cultural practices. In this case, I'm referring to formal structures.

Where to go from here? Maybe examining the literature found in institutions (pamphlets, textbooks, "codes of conduct") and literature written by those in institutions. Is "common sense" taught in these institutions? How does this "stabilize civility" in society, in regards to Durkheim? Should Durkheim be addressed? I'll most likely cite Goffman. This is somewhat related to my notes on common sense.

What is the logic of the institution and how do institutional agents (both "clients" and "authorities") relate themselves to the rest of society? Does their literature reveal anything, like poems or personal narratives?