EDUC 323: The Hidden Curriculum

What is the hidden curriculum? (Anyon, 1980)

The implicit academic, social and cultural messages communicated through unwritten rules, unspoken expectations and unofficial school norms, behaviours and values.

Why is the hidden curriculum not part of the official curriculum?

It is not necessarily taught directly or included in formal lessons; students learn it through everyday classroom experiences and school practices.

What do students learn through the hidden curriculum?

What is considered normal, acceptable and valuable, including how to behave, interact, learn and understand their place in society.

How can the hidden curriculum reinforce inequality?

It can privilege dominant cultural values and expectations, reproducing existing social hierarchies and inequalities.

What is the key idea behind the hidden curriculum?

Schools teach more than academic content: they also communicate valued knowledge, expected behaviours, authority and social roles.

What was Anyon's (1980) research investigating?

How students from different socioeconomic backgrounds experienced different classroom practices and educational expectations.

What research methods did Anyon (1980) use?

Classroom observations, interviews with students, teachers, principals and district administrators, and assessments of curricula and classroom materials.

Why is it important that Anyon's teachers were described as good or excellent?

It suggests differences in classroom experiences were not simply caused by differences in teacher quality.

What were the four school types examined by Anyon (1980)?

Working-class, middle-class, affluent professional and executive elite schools.

What characterised learning in working-class schools?

Mechanical, repetitive and routine tasks, with an emphasis on following instructions rather than independent thinking.

What types of activities did working-class students complete?

Rote learning, repetition and basic skills exercises, with little choice or decision-making.

How did teachers approach instruction in working-class schools?

Teachers gave directions but rarely explained why tasks were assigned or how they connected to wider concepts.

How was behaviour regulated in working-class schools?

Through strict instructions and reprimands, such as "shut your mouth".

What was the hidden curriculum in working-class schools?

Students were prepared for obedient, repetitive and routine work, such as labouring and factory jobs.

What characterised learning in middle-class schools?

Following directions, understanding procedures and finding the correct answer.

How did middle-class schools differ from working-class schools?

Students had more opportunities to make choices, figure things out and use more complex language.

What types of activities did middle-class students complete?

Textbook-based activities, procedural tasks and sentence construction.

What was the hidden curriculum in middle-class schools?

Students were prepared for administrative and secretarial jobs involving paperwork and following procedures.

What characterised learning in affluent professional schools?

Creative, independent learning that encouraged students to express themselves and apply ideas.

What activities did affluent professional students complete?

Writing stories, essays and plays, creating murals and engaging in creative problem-solving.

ow did teachers encourage thinking in affluent professional schools?

They encouraged students to develop their ideas independently, using prompts such as "think about that some more".

What was the hidden curriculum in affluent professional schools?

Students were prepared for professional careers requiring creativity, communication and independent thinking, such as advertising and journalism.

What characterised learning in executive elite schools?

Intellectual, analytical and conceptual learning focused on reasoning, problem-solving and leadership.

What were executive elite students expected to do?

Understand underlying concepts, master ideas, apply them to problems and teach concepts to others.

What types of issues did executive elite students discuss?

Complex social issues, such as whether workers should have the right to strike.

What activities did executive elite students complete?

Research reports, presentations and tasks requiring abstract reasoning and problem-solving.

How did teachers approach learning in executive elite schools?

Teachers provided support but allowed students considerable independence and responsibility.

What personal qualities did executive elite schools encourage?

Leadership, self-management, decision-making, intellectual reasoning and considering others' perspectives.

What was the hidden curriculum in executive elite schools?

Students were prepared for positions of power and leadership, such as CEOs and corporate executives.

How did the four school types differ in what students were taught?

• Working-class: follow instructions and complete routine tasks.

• Middle-class: follow procedures and find correct answers.

• Affluent professional: think creatively and work independently.

• Executive elite: analyse problems, develop ideas and lead others.

How did the four school types prepare students for different occupations?

Working-class → labourers; middle-class → administrators; affluent professional → creative professionals; executive elite → executives and leaders.

What was the overall significance of Anyon (1980)?

Educational experiences differed by social class, preparing students for different positions within the social and economic hierarchy.

How did Anyon demonstrate that education can reproduce class inequality?

Working-class students were taught compliance and routine, while affluent students were encouraged to think independently, create and lead.

What are hidden assumptions within schools?

Dominant social norms and expectations treated as normal or universal, despite not reflecting everyone's identities or experiences.

What is cisheteronormativity?

The systemic assumption that being cisgender and heterosexual is the normal or expected way to exist.

How can cisheteronormativity appear in school environments?

Through gendered bathrooms, uniforms and physical spaces that reinforce binary gender expectations.

How can cisheteronormativity appear in school curricula?

Sex and relationship education may prioritise heterosexual relationships while overlooking diverse identities.

Sex and relationship education may prioritise heterosexual relationships while overlooking diverse identities.

LGBTQIA+ staff and students may feel less comfortable sharing their identities and relationships because heterosexuality is treated as the default.

Why is cisheteronormativity problematic?

It can make LGBTQIA+ identities less visible and accepted, reinforcing exclusion and pressure to conform.

It can make LGBTQIA+ identities less visible and accepted, reinforcing exclusion and pressure to conform.

Pākehā cultural values and practices are treated as the standard, while other cultural perspectives may be marginalised.

How can Pākehā norms be reflected in school routines?

Through expectations around behaviour, communication, organisation, punctuality and structured schedules.

How can linear time reflect dominant cultural assumptions?

Schools may prioritise strict schedules, punctuality and structured time rather than recognising different cultural approaches to time.

How can schools prioritise individualism over collectivism?

By emphasising individual achievement and competition rather than collective learning, relationships and responsibility.

How can Pākehā norms influence history education?

Curricula may privilege Pākehā historical perspectives while marginalising Māori and other Indigenous histories.

What is deficit thinking?

Viewing students' differences or difficulties as problems within the students rather than considering institutional or cultural barriers.

What NCEA Level 2 and Level 3 achievement rates did Kura students achieve?

72% at Level 2 and 73% at Level 3, above national Māori averages.

Why are Kura educational outcomes significant?

They challenge deficit assumptions about Māori achievement and demonstrate the potential of culturally grounded education.

What hidden assumption can schools make about disability?

That disability is an individual problem or inherent barrier preventing students from participating and succeeding.

How can school environments create barriers for disabled students?

Physical buildings and facilities may not accommodate different access needs.

How can deficit thinking affect disabled students?

Disability may be viewed as something wrong with the individual rather than considering environmental barriers.

How can teacher expectations reinforce ableism?

Teachers may assume disabled students are less capable or cannot achieve the same outcomes as non-disabled students.

What is ableism in the context of the hidden curriculum?

Treating non-disabled ways of learning, communicating and behaving as the normal standard.

What is the school's "secret codebook"?

The unwritten behavioural rules and expectations students are expected to understand and follow.

Why can the secret codebook disadvantage students?

Students may be punished for breaking expectations they were never explicitly taught or may not understand.

What behaviours are commonly rewarded by the hidden curriculum?

Being quiet, compliant, following instructions, not arguing back and not calling out excitedly.

What happens to students who do not conform to unwritten school expectations?

They may be labelled disruptive or difficult, punished or viewed negatively.

Why can the secret codebook disadvantage culturally diverse students?

Expectations may reflect dominant cultural communication and behavioural norms rather than recognising different cultural practices.

Why can the secret codebook disadvantage disabled students?

Students with different communication, behavioural or learning styles may be judged against expectations that do not accommodate their needs.

Why is valuing compliance over curiosity problematic?

It can discourage individuality, questioning, creativity and critical thinking.

What is the key argument about the hidden curriculum and behaviour?

Schools can reward students who already understand dominant expectations while penalising those who do not.

What are four ways to resist the hidden curriculum?

• Make hidden expectations known.

• Think collectively about the purpose of schools.

• Understand and question assessment.

• Radically reimagine education.

What does it mean to make the hidden curriculum known?

Identify and expose the unwritten rules, assumptions and expectations operating within schools.

Why should we question the purpose of schools?

To consider what education should achieve, whose interests it serves and who benefits from existing structures.

Why should we question assessment practices?

To examine what is assessed, how it is assessed and whose knowledge and abilities are valued.

What does it mean to radically reimagine education?

Consider alternative ways of organising learning so all students can experience excellence and success.

What question does the idea of all students achieving Excellence raise?

Whether the education system genuinely expects all students to achieve excellence.

What is school abolition?

An approach that challenges existing school structures and encourages people to imagine alternative ways of organising education.

What distinction does school abolition make between education and schooling?

Education is learning and knowledge-sharing; schooling is the formal institutions, structures, rules and practices organising education.

What does Kelley (2022) argue about oppression?

It is not enough to imagine a world without oppression; we must understand how systems reproduce and normalise exploitation and subjugation.

According to Kelley, what must we understand before imagining alternatives?

The mechanisms and systems that maintain and reproduce oppression.

How are Anyon (1980) and the hidden curriculum connected?

Anyon demonstrates how everyday classroom practices communicate different expectations according to social class, preparing students for different occupational roles.

How are Pākehā norms and deficit thinking connected?

When Pākehā expectations are treated as universal, cultural differences may be incorrectly interpreted as student weaknesses.

How are ableism and the secret codebook connected?

Unwritten expectations about behaviour and learning may privilege non-disabled students and disadvantage those with different needs.

How are cisheteronormativity and the hidden curriculum connected?

Everyday school practices can communicate that heterosexual and cisgender identities are normal while other identities are less accepted.

How does the hidden curriculum reproduce social inequality?

It privileges dominant identities, cultural values and behaviours while preparing different social groups for unequal positions in society.

What is the overall takeaway from the hidden curriculum?

Schools are not neutral: everyday practices communicate whose knowledge, identities and behaviours are valued, potentially reproducing inequality.