Hidden Curriculum
Hidden Curriculum
Description of the term Hidden Curriculum
"Hidden curriculum is a broad category that includes all of the unrecognized and sometimes unintended knowledge,values, and beliefs that are part of the learning process in schools and classrooms." (Horn, 2003: 298) According to the Blackwell dictionary of sociology, "Hidden curriculum is a concept used to describe the often unarticulated and unacknowledged things that students are taught in school." (Blackwell,2000: online) Moreover, the hidden curriculum generally refers to the "subtle or not-so subtle messages that are not part of the intended curriculum" (Nieto, 2001: 28). In short, the term is use to "describe the unwritten, informal code of conduct to which children are expected to conform in the classroom" . In other words, hidden curriculum refers to the unintended or implicit values cultivated in the practices exercised in the classroom and educational institutions through the application of the curriculum. For example, "Children are said to be rewarded not only for learning their subject curriculum but appearing to do so with enthusiasm, alertness, and deference to and respect for authority. In this way education imparts not only formal knowledge but an understanding of how to act ‘properly’ in wider society." (Crystal Reference Encyclopedia, 2001: online) Also,this can be asociated with the instructional practices exersice in the classroom by teachers to cope with the demands of organizational structures over which they have little control as the "set of values, attitudes, knowledge frames, which are embodied in the organization and processes of schooling and which are implicitly conveyed to pupils" (Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 2000: online) Finally, in education, "the hidden curriculum refers to the way in which cultural values and attitudes (such as obedience to authority, punctuality, and delayed gratification) are transmitted, through the structure of teaching and the organization of schools."(A Dictionary of Sociology, 2005: online)
Original use
The first credited use of the term hidden curriculum was made by Philip W Jackson in his book “Life in classrooms�? (1968).
http://www.kdp.org/images/jackson.jpeg Image:Philip W Jackson
Different meanings of the term Hidden Curriculum
According to Terry Anderson (2001) the term hidden curriculum is used in education and social science literature in three primary ways:
• By critical researchers in reference to various forms of discrimination, indoctrination, and cultural inculcation imposed along with the formal curriculum of education systems.
• To explain how the environment of educational institutions structures affect the conditions of learning that taken place within it
• In reference to "the unstated rules necessary for successful completion of formal education studies".
Purpose and general use of the term Hidden Curriculum
However the diversity of meanings around the term's use is motivate by a unitary goal to make explicit the agendas in education that are produced in the institutional practices of educational institutions and the classroom.
Characteristics of Hidden Curriculum in school settings
a) “it is not intended"
b) “is transmitted through the everyday, normal goings on in school"
Source: McGutcheon, 1988 : 191.
Hidden Curriculum, schools and the work of teachers
Should it even be refered to as the hidden curriculum today? It is open and done in every school in the United States whether public or private. It is in the way we teach our students to become good citizens and follow the norms of society. In some ways it can be argued that this so-called hidden curriculum is more important then the regular curriculum. Some will say that this hidden curriculum has not always been acknowledged. If we look back at history we can see that as immigration to the United States increased in the late 1800s education and mandatory education laws also increased. This was at least partly due to the belief that the best way to Americanize the new immigrants was to put their children in school so they could bring American ideas and values home to their parents.
A way to consider the relation between teaching and curriculum is to think both as separate instances of the educational process: one a teaching vehicle, the other the definition of the intended content of such teaching. However, as Gail McGutcheon (1988) and others point out, curriculum and teaching are "closely entwined; curriculum affects and is affected by teaching and the opposite is also true."(191) The overt curriculum is what schools and educators "say they intend to teach". We can identify two dimensions of this overt curriculum: a) The formal policy level curriculum: the formal written curriculum adopted by schools. b) The enacted curriculum in the classrooms: the actual curriculum practice by teachers.
It is in the enacted curriculum practice by teachers that it is possible to observe the hidden curriculum taught in the classroom. It is in the messages implicit in the teacher’s actions, in the every day students' and teachers' interaction in schools, from textbooks, or out of school policies that we may find the implementation of the hidden curriculum. As Turner (1983) note "side by side with the manifest curriculum, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that schools are charge with teaching, there is a ‘hidden curriculum’ which may make as much if not more impact on pupils." (195) For example, unintended stereotypical messages about minorities or ethnic groups, about the role of male and females, about the work ethic to be cultivate or the meaning of success and failure in schools.
An example of the way that operates the hidden curriculum may be observed in following case study:
"Broadly speaking, the environment of fielding [School] ‘teaches’ that being a student involves hard work, high expectations for one’s performance, deference to teacher authority, and a balance between cooperation and competition . Despite an ambiance of informality and openness among students and teacher participants in the setting, behavioral boundaries and seriousness of purpose are communicated through the myriad of daily interactions, rather than on the basis of codified rules. Indeed they are a function of a sense of values which are held in common among teachers and to which students are socialized" (Comfort, 1984: 31 Op. Cit. by McCutcheon, 1988:193)
Other examples of the way in which the hidden curriculum is enacted may be observed in the case of "Only Wayne", which shows that the concept may be used to point out instances in which the practices of schools are implemented to support and teach implicit racist and violent aptitudes and values toward minorities.
Precisely, "because teachers have their own personalities, values, interest, strengths, and weakness, these also affect the hidden curriculum. As teachers we do not shrug off these aspects of ourselves as we remove our coats and hang them on pegs outside our classrooms. Hence the hidden curriculum is primarily the purview of the teacher with the exception of latent messages in the curriculum materials and school policies, as teachers communicate their values, expectations and other messages through the hidden curriculum while they teach the overt curriculum, manage their administrative tasks, maintain discipline, and attend other responsibilities" (McGutcheon, 1988 : 198) In the same sense, the application of classroom discipline plans and techniques have implicit values that are taught to the students. For every classroom model there is an implicit basic assuption about motivation, and the appropiate behavior to be rule and promote in the classroom: "children are not born with self-control"(behaviorism), "the student is seen as motivated by the internal desire to be good"(Rogerian Model), and others. Precisely, Alfie Khon's critic on some of the models applied in the classroom, show that for every assumption contained in the aplication of the model there may be possible unintended or intended consequences, that may be in direct contradiction with the teacher's own objectives. For example, the notions of democratic practice in the Dreikus model of cooperative discipline, "could contain such suggestions as using a class meeting to drive "a wedge between the participants, splitting them [so as to weaken their power. The moment the teacher wins one or more of the students it fortifies her position" (Dreikurs et al. 1982, p. 237) are base on a particular notion of democracy by Dreikurs "it is autocratic to force, but democratic to induce compliance (Dreikurs et al. 1982, p.67). And later children should be stipulated to want to conform [pp. 85-86)." (Wolfgang,2005: 128) In short, according to Khon, the values taught about democracy by applying this technique are based on the teaching of an implicit authoritarian definition of democracy. As David M. Shimel (2003) points out in an article based on the report of 250 questionnaires to teachers and administrators on the link between hidden curriculum and the rules, punishment and discipline instruments applied in educational institutions. According to Shimmel the hidden curriculum 'taught through school rules, punishments, procedures, and norms' in many schools seems to have negative consequences to the citizen education in the schools, "after twelve years in a system that seems to encourage non-questioning, non-participation in the rule-making process, it is not surprising that many students become alienated, passive and unconcerned citizens. There are multiple reasons why so many young people do not participate in our political system, and many of the reasons are beyond the reach of the schools." (34) Therefore, the choosing of a particular model of discipline and the application of certain techniques by teachers may be linked to the implementation of a hidden curriculum in the classroom or the institution.
Signed Life Experiences
I have been accused of promoting a hidden curriculum. The topic seemed relevant to me as a history teacher as propaganda has been incorporated into curriculum even in our own country. The lessons of history have moral judgements, but the accusation came after some parents heard what the students had learned in my class: equality and respect for other cultures. A parent found it insane that students learn the historical context of the world's major religions and worse, that Christianity was not portrayed as the 'right' religion and that Judaism and Islam were compared as equally important and not 'evil.' The hidden curriculum was respect and understanding and this parent did not like it. -Jakob
References and other links of interest
Anderson, Terry. The hidden curriculum in distance education: an updated view. Change v. 33 no. 6 (November/December 2001) p. 28-35. Retrieved October 25, 2005 from: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1254/is_6_33/ai_80089343
Anyon, J. (1981). Elementary schooling and distinctions of social class. Interchange, 12, 118- 132
Bowles, S., & Gintis, H. (1976). Schooling in capitalist America. New York: Basic Books.
hidden curriculum. The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology (2000). Retrieved 01 November 2005, from xreferplus. http://www.xreferplus.com/entry/723883
hidden curriculum. Crystal Reference Encyclopedia (2001). Retrieved November 01, 2005 from xreferplus. http://www.xreferplus.com/entry/937230
hidden curriculum. Collins Dictionary of Sociology (2000). Retrieved November 24, 2005 from xreferplus. http://www.xreferplus.com/entry/1416657
hidden curriculum. A Dictionary of Sociology. John Scott and Gordon Marshall. Oxford University Press 2005. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Univ Illinois-Urbana Champaign. Retrieved October 15, 2005 from: <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t88.e1003>
Horn, Raymond A. Jr.Developing a Critical Awareness of the Hidden Curriculum through Media Literacy. The Clearing House v. 76 no. 6 (July/August 2003) p. 298-300.
Feinberg, W. & Soltis, J.F. (1998). School and Society. New York: Teachers College Press. p. 59-77
Jackson, P. (1968). Life in classrooms. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston
"Phillip Jackson ("Life In Classrooms")" Retrieved November 25, 2005 from: http://www.sociology.org.uk/tece1el2.htm
Keddie, N. (1971). Classroom knowledge. In M. F. D. Young (Ed.), Knowledge and control (pp. 133-160). London: Collier-Macmillan.
Metz, M. H. (1978). Classrooms and corridors: The crisis of authority in desegregated secondary schools. Berkeley: University of California Press.
McLaren, P. (2003)'Critical Pedagogy a look at the major concepts' Darder, A. , Baltodano, M & Torres, R. (eds.) Critical pedagogy readerNew York: Routledge Falmer.
McCutcheon, Gail “Curriculum & work of teachers�?, appears in Apple, Michael W. & Beyer, Landon, Beyer (editors) (1988) The curriculum: problems, politics, and possibilities. New York: State University of New York Press. Pp. 191-203.
Nieto, Sonia (2002). Affirming Diversity: the sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Boston: Pearson education.
"Only Wayne" Retrieved from Wikied, November 20, 2005 from: http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Only_Wayne
Snyder, B. (1970). The hidden curriculum. New York: Knopf.
Schimmel, D. Collaborative Rule-Making and Citizenship Education: An Antidote to the Undemocratic Hidden Curriculum. American Secondary Education v. 31 no. 3 (Summer 2003) p. 16-35. Retrieve September 25, 2005 from WilsonWeb: http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/shared/shared_main.jhtml;jsessionid=LIMENJJLW1WQNQA3DINCFF4ADUNGIIV0?_requestid=130780
Skelton, A. (1997). Studying hidden curricula: Developing a perspective in the light of postmodern insights. Curriculum Studies. 5 (2). Retrieved November 8, 2004, from http://www.triangle.co.uk/pdf/viewpdf.asp?j=cus&vol=5&issue=2&year=1997&article=05-2-as&id=81.218.137.172
Turner, Glenn “ The hidden curriculum of examination�?, appears in Hammersley, Martyn & Hargreaves, Andy ( editors) (1983) “ Curriculum practice: some sociological case studies�? . New York: The Famer Press. Pp.195 -206.
Wolfgang, C. H. (2001). Solving discipline and classroom management problems (5th Edition ed.). New York: Wiley & Sons, Inc. Comfort, Ronald E. “Analyzing the operational curriculum of a school: a case study.�? Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April 1984.
