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The concept hidden curriculum expresses the idea that schools do more than simply transmit knowledge, as laid down in the official curricula. Behind it lies criticism of the social implications, political underpinnings, and cultural outcomes of modern educative activities. While early examinations were concerned with identifying the anti-democratic nature of schooling, later studies have taken various tones, including those concerned with socialism, capitalism, and anarchism in education. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... For a curriculum vitae, see Résumé. In formal education, a curriculum (plural curricula) is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community[1] for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ... For other uses, see Capitalism (disambiguation). ... Anarchist redirects here. ...

John Dewey explored the hidden curriculum of education in his early 20th century works, particularly his classic, Democracy and Education. Dewey saw patterns evolving and trends developing in public schools which lent themselves to his pro-democratic perspectives. His work was quickly rebutted by educational theorist George Counts, whose 1929 book, Dare the School Build a New Social Order challenged the presumptive nature of Dewey's works. Where Dewey (and other child development theorists including Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson and Maria Montessori) hypothesized a singular path through which all young people travelled in order to become adults, Counts recognized the reactive, adaptive, and multifaceted nature of learning. This nature caused many educators to slant their perspectives, practices, and assessments of student performance in particular directions which affected their students drastically. Counts' examinations were expanded on by Charles Beard, and later, Myles Horton as he created what became the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee. John Dewey (October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer, whose thoughts and ideas have been greatly influential in the United States and around the world. ... George Sylvester Counts (b. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jean Piaget (August 9, 1896 – September 16, 1980) was a Swiss philosopher, natural scientist and developmental psychologist, well known for his work studying children, his theory of cognitive development and for his epistemological view called genetic epistemology. He created in 1955 the International Centre for Genetic Epistemology in Geneva and... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Maria Montessori (August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) was an Italian physician, educator, philosopher, humanitarian and devout Catholic; she is best known for her philosophy and method of education of children from birth to adolescence. ... Charles Austin Beard (November 27, 1874 _ September 1, 1948) was an American historian, author with James Harvey Robinson of The Development of Modern Europe (1907). ... Myles Horton, born in Savannah, Tennessee (July 5, 1905 - January, 1990) was an American popular educator and founder of the Highlander Folk School, famous for its role in the Civil Rights Movement. ... In 1932, Myles Horton and Don West founded the Highlander Folk School (later changed to the Highlander Research and Education Center) outside the town of Mounteagle in Grundy County, Tennessee in order to provide an educational center in the South for the training of rural and industrial leaders, and for...

The phrase "hidden curriculum" was reportedly coined by the sociologist Phillip Jackson (Life In Classrooms, 1968). He argued that we need to understand "education" as a socialization process. Shortly after Jackson's coinage, MIT's Benson Snyder published The Hidden Curriculum, which addresses the question of why students—even or especially the most gifted—turn away from education. Snyder advocates the thesis that much of campus conflict and students' personal anxiety is caused by a mass of unstated academic and social norms, which thwart the students' ability to develop independently or think creatively. Sociology is the study of the social lives of humans, groups and societies. ... Phillip Jackson (born September 22, 1950 in Chicago, IL) has had a diverse career including serving as Senior Vice President of Kroch’s & Brentano’s; Assistant Budget Director for the City of Chicago; Deputy Chief of Staff, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Chief of Staff of the Chicago Public Schools... A family posing for a group photo socializes together. ... Mapúa Institute of Technology (MIT, MapúaTech or simply Mapúa) is a private, non-sectarian, Filipino tertiary institute located in Intramuros, Manila. ... The Hidden Curriculum (1973 edition) The Hidden Curriculum (1970) is a book by Benson R. Snyder, the then-Dean of Institute Relations at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ...

The hidden curriculum has been further explored by a number of educators. Starting with Pedagogy of the Oppressed, published in 1972, through the late 1990s, Brazilian educator Paulo Freire explored various effects of presumptive teaching on students, schools, and society as a whole. Freire's explorations were in sync with those of John Holt and Ivan Illich, each of whom were quickly identified as radical educators. Pedagogy of the Oppressed is the most widely known of Paulo Freires works. ... Paulo Freire (Recife, Brazil September 19, 1921 - São Paulo, Brazil May 2, 1997) was a Brazilian educator and is a highly influential theorist of education. ... John Caldwell Holt (April 14, 1923 - September 14, 1985) was an American author and educator, one of the best known proponents of homeschooling, and a pioneer in youth rights theory. ... This article is about the Austrian philosopher. ...

More recent definitions were given by Meighan ("A Sociology of Educating", 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.

and Michael Haralambos ("Sociology: Themes and Perspectives", 1991):

The hidden curriculum consists of those things pupils learn through the experience of attending school rather than the stated educational objectives of such institutions.

Recently a variety of scholar/author/researchers, including Neil Postman, Henry Giroux, bell hooks, and Jonathan Kozol have examined the effects of hidden curriculum. One increasingly popular proponent, John Taylor Gatto, radically criticizes compulsory education in his book Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling (1992). Neil Postman (March 8, 1931 - October 5, 2003) was a prominent American educator, media theorist, and cultural critic. ... Henry Giroux, born September 18, 1943, is a US cultural critic. ... Gloria Jean Watkins (born on September 25, 1952), better known as bell hooks, is an African-American intellectual, feminist, and social activist. ... Jonathan Kozol at Pomona College April 17, 2003 Jonathan Kozol (born 1936 in Boston, Massachusetts) is a non-fiction writer, educator, and activist, best known for his books on public education in the United States. ... John Taylor Gatto (born John Gatto) is an American retired school teacher of 30 years and author of several books on education. ... Compulsory education is education which children are required by law to receive and governments to provide. ...

As more is popularly learned about the sociological effects of educational institutional and curricular design and how it can design and perpetuate particular forms of power, knowledge, and ignorance, it is important to historically analyze the origins and choices of basic models and assumptions upon which they are formed, seeking out motivations of the founders.

See also

• Curriculum studies
• Critical pedagogy
• Tacit knowledge
• The Hidden Curriculum (book)
• Youth voice in education

Curriculum studies is a field that addresses distinct and important issues related to education. ... Critical pedagogy is a teaching approach which attempts to help students question and challenge domination, and the beliefs and practices that dominate. ... The concept of tacit knowing comes from scientist and philosopher Michael Polanyi. ... The Hidden Curriculum (1973 edition) The Hidden Curriculum (1970) is a book by Benson R. Snyder, the then-Dean of Institute Relations at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ... Youth voice is a fairly common neologism to refers to the distinct ideas, opinions, attitudes, knowledge, and actions of young people as a collective body. ...

External links

• "Good German Schools Come to America", Thom Hartmann