Are switches connected in series or parallel with the devices they control?

This arrangement is used to control the lamps in buildings. This type of circuit is often called a parallel circuit but you can see that it is not really so simple - the switches are in series with the lamps, and it is these switch and lamp pairs that are connected in parallel.

In some unusual applications of unusual components, I can think of unusual electric circuits where a switch may be connected in parallel with a device in order to control it.

But I'm sure this is not what's intended in a question on the high-school level.

Until you get in a situation with tricky applications in a tricky circuit, your switches will always be connect in series with the devices they control.