The Hidden curriculum



overview of the hidden curriculum



The term 'Hidden Curriculum' was first used by sociologist Philip Jackson in 1968, although the concept has been around longer.  Jackson argues that what is taught in schools is more than the sum total of the curriculum.  He thought that school should be understood as a socialisation process where students pick up messages through the experience of being in school, not just from things that they are explicitly taught. 

A recent definition of a hidden curriculum was given by Meighan ("A Sociology of Education", 1981):

The hidden curriculum is taught by the school, not by any teacher...something is coming across to the pupils which may never be spoken in the English lesson or prayed about in assembly. They are picking-up an approach to living and an attitude to learning.

Basically, school socialisation teaches us the "correct" norms and values that will teach us how to act when we go to the workplace so that we will fit in with everyone else in society.

Here is an interesting extract from an article by the Guardian:

"Given that people constantly pick up messages from their environment, it is clear that the way a school is designed, the materials used, and its subsequent maintenance and cleanliness has an influential role in education.  A building that looks and feels like a prison has one kind of impact, whilst a light and airy, inviting building has another.  The school building sends out a message to pupils and staff about how much they are valued and also about how much their education is valued.  This is an important consideration to have in mind when negotiating the school design process."

I found this interesting because recently The Marsh Academy has built a new school building that it much cleaner, has better maintanence and has been designed in a "better" way than the ol building. Therefore, according to this article the hidden curriculum will drastically change because students will feel more "valued" and therefore the hidden curriculum may make them aim for better jobs in the workplace and it could also alter thier norms and values.