Hidden Curriculum

For my Curriculum class, I completed a project on Hidden Curriculum. Given that much of my project was a reflection on my first year of teaching, I thought it would be fitting to post parts of my paper here. I started by creating a wiki to get other teachers' perspectives, then used those comments to enhance my research and personal reflection.

Personal Experience—Course Content

One of the things that really struck me in regards to hidden curriculum was what students could be learning from the course content or intended curriculum. There are definitely set targets and objectives for student learning in relation to the content; however, I never thought about what other things students could be learning from the same content, such as attitudes, values, and societal roles. This is something that I had not even considered when I began teaching last year; I was focused on what I was supposed to do with the various texts, not what the students could inadvertently be learning depending on

I began my investigation by looking at the sophomore level English class, as this is the class I primarily teach—three sections each semester last year and three-four sections a semester this coming year. Sophomore year consists of American literature. Therefore, content is immediately limited to American authors—typically, this means white male American authors. While the class does contain works from two female authors (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka), the diversity is extremely limited. The class is anchored by three main works each semester—The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Of Mice and Men, and Raisin in the Sun in the fall, and The Glass Menagerie, When the Emperor Was Divine, and To Kill a Mockingbird in the spring. What the students get out of the material is largely based on the teacher’s methods and focus. For example, on the surface, most of these texts include characters where minorities are mistreated and women are discounted. In Of Mice and Men, the African-American character of Crooks is constantly ridiculed, and the only female character does not even have a name—she is referred to as Curley’s wife or a tart. If a teacher (intentionally or unintentionally) skims over this and does not engage the students in a discussion about why this is taking place, students may get the message that this type of treatment is acceptable. However, if the teacher uses these examples of teaching points to connect back to attitudes of society during that time period and the historical context, students could come away with a much better understanding.

The English department is currently at the end of a complete overhaul of the curriculum in the district. While I think it would have been beneficial to discuss the hidden curriculum at the beginning of the revision process (though I had no idea to suggest this since I was not even aware of the hidden curriculum’s existence!), through looking at our new sophomore class, I am excited about its potential. The new sophomore class is titled Global Voices. It is thematically based with literature from around the world—South America, Africa, India, Japan, and many other countries. This focus was identified because of the previous gaps in the content—even at the levels that were not American literature, there were very few pieces from different cultures. With new additions that feature strong main characters from a variety of backgrounds (such as Persepolis—a young Iranian girl and Slumdog Millionaire—an Indian teenage boy), hopefully the message of the hidden curriculum becomes one of value and appreciation for all perspectives, regardless of varying teacher practices. Also, the thematic units invite discussion about conflict and the hegemonic society—with units such as The Nature of Man, Identity, Power Structures, Gender and Social Construction, Cultural Differences, and Social Consciousness, students will be engaged in investigations of societies, conflicts, and their responsibilities to incite change.

Additional Perspectives

            While the messages students could get out of the course content was the first thing I thought of in connection to the hidden curriculum, that by no means encompasses it in entirety. Hidden curriculum can include the “unwritten rules” of the school or the implications of the classroom environment. As I started thinking about my own personal experiences, I found myself at a roadblock—I knew that I was engaging in the hidden curriculum, but I was so unaware of it that I had a hard time even beginning to think about what I could be doing. In order to brainstorm and gather ideas, I decided to talk to other teachers to find out their perceptions of and experiences with the hidden curriculum. One of the assignments for my 401 Technology class was to create a wiki that could be used for educational purposes, having different people contribute to the wiki. I thought this would be the perfect forum for getting others’ thoughts. I created a wiki with some general information on hidden curriculum as well as specific questions based on various roles in schools. I invited several people to join the wiki, read through the information, and leave comments in response to the questions and each other. The wiki can be accessed through the site listed at the end of the paper.

            I got a variety of responses, some positive and some negative. Reading other teachers’ ideas of what the hidden curriculum was and its potential to influence students really got me thinking about my own teaching. I was particularly inspired by teachers’ comments about schools teaching students how to “play the game” by giving teachers what they want:

I believe that the hidden curriculum of school is to teach students "how to play the game" - where the "game" is how to obtain and maintain employment in our society. I am on the fence as to whether the methods use to achieve this goal SHOULD be the hidden curriculum, but I personally see it there.
Dan mentioned that students should not be searching for the answer that the teacher wants to hear -and I agree with him. I do create my curriculum around showing students both sides of controversial issues, and what I grade them on is how they support their own opinion. Despite this, I do think that success after high school is somewhat dependent on finding out what the professor or what the employer wants to hear. You could be the smartest and most qualified person for a job, but if you can't talk your way through an interview or keep yourself from going off on your boss when he/she makes a decision you don't like - then you won't get or keep that job.
At some point, students need to be prepared for this.
Our educational system does try to instill values like this in students. The ideas of obedience to authority, responsibility, social skills, cooperation, , etc... They are all are part of the hidden curriculum; though, some are more hidden than others.
As a teacher I find that the best justification for students who do not want to follow this hidden curriculum is "hey, that's the real world!" I do think that we would be doiing a disservice to students if we didn't at least acknowledge that their future will be just as much of a "game" as school is. You don't need to be the smartest - you just need to know how to play it right. (AlisonMayer, Teacher page on wiki)

I found this past year that my students were easily frustrated in my English classes. They came in with the idea that there was one “right” answer and that it was my job to confirm or deny their attempts at identifying the right answer. This idea is consistent with Apple’s claim that schools attempt to reinforce societal rules by emphasizing consensus and deemphasizing conflict.When I asked my students what made them think this, the immediate response was previous classes. Whether teachers realized it or not, they were training students to think objectively rather than critically. When I challenged my students to come up with and defend their own interpretations and refused to give them an “ultimate” answer at the end of a long debate, I saw how uncomfortable they were with the process. I believe this discomfort is a result of what another teacher identified as issues with the hidden curriculum of teaching English: “I think two seemingly contradictory, yet equally "dangerous," types of hidden curriculum that we English teachers can be guilty of are: 1. Teaching students that there is only one way to interpret a text (i.e. the teacher's way) and 2. Teaching students that any interpretation of text is fine and "right" so long as they say (write) their interpretation well” (Teacher page on wiki). I think we absolutely need to get away from seeing the teacher as the one with the “right” answer or method, but there is a fine line between encouraging a variety of student interpretations and considering every opinion as correct. The difference should be in that there is more to it than just writing well, students need to support their interpretations with evidence from the text, as Mayer identified. One of the things that I really focus on with my students is that their opinions will not be discredited provided that they can back up their interpretations with multiple quotes from the text. This is what allows them to investigate, analyze, and question each other.

            I also really liked one comment about the potential positive influence of the hidden curriculum:

The goal of teaching, especially in the arts is to open minds not close them by exposing them to all genres and flavors without judgment. You need to work hard to create a balanced environment of freedom and authority that allows for appropriate self expression and values the judgments and opinions of others. The other good hidden curriculum helps, as many have mentioned prepare students for real life experiences and is based on traits of honesty, character, caring, empathy and some level of compliance with societal norms to be successful in the wider world beyond school. A hidden curriculum is not always a bad thing! (Tiede, Teacher page on wiki)

In today’s society, it is so easy to get sucked in by the negative. Most of the stories on the news or in the papers are about tragedies, failures, and pain. Looking at the little research that is out there, all of it seemed to focus on the negative aspects of hidden curriculum—how the hidden curriculum hurts students. However, if we truly believe that the hidden curriculum is always going to exist, it seems as if there is potential for a positive hidden curriculum. Take for example classroom environment. Creating positive, respectful relationships with students may not be something in an official curriculum, but I would argue that students learn more (positive things) from a teacher that is invested in them. In my classroom, I strive to create a safe, positive environment for students. My goal is to create relationships with my students where they understand that I value them as individuals. My classroom management plan includes clear, consistent guidelines so that students can easily learn clear expectations. However, I also aim to make myself approachable and flexible—I want students to learn that making accommodations is important to me and that I understand that at times, other priorities might take precedence. I want to be a teacher who provides a consistent example of tolerance and intolerance—valuing a diversity of perspectives and refusing to tolerate discrimination. My students quickly learn what language and communication is acceptable and appropriate in the classroom and generally do not struggle to treat each other with respect. These practices are not in the official curriculum; nevertheless, I would argue that they are positive influences on students.

Conclusions

            Ultimately, taking a look at hidden curriculum in general as well as specific to mine and others’ experiences has greatly changed my perceptions. I have long held on to the statement, “The kids won’t care about what you know until they know you care about them.” I think there is great truth to this statement. While much of the focus on improving schools has been on the course content, I do not think that changing this official curriculum is going to create much change in students if they do not have a teacher who is truly invested in them. The official curriculum becomes secondary whenever it is in conflict with the hidden curriculum—which includes teacher relationships.

I stated in my introduction that just because we may not be aware of the hidden curriculum does not mean it disappears—we are engaging in the hidden curriculum whether we realize it or not. I think this is an extremely powerful observation. If, as educators, we want to make any significant changes to the education system, or even just ensure we are meeting the needs of all students as best as possible, we need to be aware of all the implications of all our actions not just the intentional implications.