The Hidden Curriculum (OCR A-Level Sociology): Revision Notes

The Hidden Curriculum

The hidden curriculum is the unwritten, informal, and often unintended lessons, values, and perspectives that students learn in school. These lessons go beyond the formal curriculum and include social norms, attitudes, and behaviours.

Key Aspects

• Social Norms and Values: Students learn societal norms and values, such as punctuality, conformity, competition, and obedience.
• Hierarchies and Authority: It reinforces the acceptance of hierarchical structures and authority figures.
• Cultural Capital: It transmits cultural capital, which includes non-financial social assets like language, habits, and cultural knowledge that can help individuals succeed in society.

Relevant Sociologists and Studies:

Philip Jackson (1968):

• Work: "Life in Classrooms"

• Contribution: Jackson was one of the first to articulate the concept of the hidden curriculum. He observed that schools teach students to deal with delayed gratification, competition, and the implicit rules of behaviour necessary to function in a bureaucratic society.

Pierre Bourdieu (1977):

• Work: "Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture" (with Jean-Claude Passeron)

• Contribution: Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital is crucial to understanding the hidden curriculum. He argued that schools perpetuate social inequalities by valuing the cultural capital of the dominant classes, thereby disadvantaging students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Bowles and Gintis (1976):

• Work: "Schooling in Capitalist America"

• Contribution: They argued that the hidden curriculum in schools serves to reproduce the labour force required by a capitalist society. Schools instil the values of obedience and hard work, mirroring the hierarchical structure of the workplace.

Paul Willis (1977):

• Work: "Learning to Labour"

• Contribution: Willis studied working-class "lads" and found that while they rejected the formal curriculum, they internalised a hidden curriculum that prepared them for manual labour jobs. His study highlighted how the hidden curriculum can reinforce social class divisions.

Implications:

• The hidden curriculum has significant implications for social stratification and inequality. It can perpetuate existing class structures by subtly instilling values and behaviours that align with societal expectations for different social groups.

• Understanding the hidden curriculum is crucial for addressing educational inequalities and creating more equitable educational practices.