The Hidden Curriculum Pushes Inequality in Society

The Conflict Perspective on education usually gets a lot of support as it questions the Education
system and how we as educators within the system tend to push the status quo of society. One
critique is that some forms of education are oversimplifying the diverse experiences of
individuals within social groups.
The first mention of the term “The Hidden Curriculum” was first coined by Philip Jackson in
1986. Back then, when they discussed The Hidden Curriculum, they only considered school rules
and regulations, personal interactions, teachers and student relations, and teaching practices and
the hidden curriculum relationship. In modern times, the definition has become more refined.
“The hidden curriculum is what educators teach students without even realizing it, through their
interactions, modeling, and school or classroom culture; it consists of unspoken values, beliefs,
norms and culture” (Betkowski, 2023) While many have grown to acknowledge and accept the
hidden curriculum as potential good, some have come to disagree. McLaren believes that the
hidden curriculum forces the students to accept the existing power relationships and the
dominant ideology and norms in the name of moral behavior (McLaren, 2007).
Imagine for a second that you are a recently immigrated student from a foreign country. Your
first language is not English. When you attend high school here in the Caribbean, majority of our
teachers are from English speaking backgrounds and are not fluent in another. Take for example,
here in Antigua and Barbuda where we have an ever-growing Spanish community. Year after
year, more students come from the Dominican Republic without any English. These students are
alienated in our schools as they struggle with even understanding basic concepts. As teachers
would abandon them to work instead with the slower students of an English tongue, these
students either drop out or repeat continuously in the system. In turn, students will come and
continue alienating these Spanish students due to the teacher’s relations with them and the
obvious language barrier. These students are expected to either assimilate to our standards or be
forced to be left behind.
In History class, we tell our black boys about slavery and discuss the treatment of them based on
their nappy hair and black skin. Years ago, slaves used to have their heads shaved as it was
viewed as unseemly for work or public image. Today, schools enforce policies where we tell our
boys to cut their hair and keep it well groomed. This perpetuates the colonial European standards
of beauty from slavery on our boys. The same goes for standard uniforms for our schools. Yes, it
may give identity but whose identity? It takes away from the children’s creativity and individual
identity. Whereas if a child of more “coolie” genetics will come to school with their hair long
and smooth and suddenly the haircut policies are not as enforced on them. This is a slap in the
face of our black boys as it subconsciously sends the message that our boys skin and hair is
unseemly and unacceptable for public view.

As Philip Jackson states, the following factors form the hidden curriculum:
 • School Rules and Regulations - The formal rules in a school may communicate a wide variety
of intentional and unintentional messages to students. For example, some schools require
students to wear school uniforms, some ban certain types of attire (short skirts, clothing with
images and language considered to be inappropriate), and others have very liberal or permissive
clothing policies. While the intent of formal school rules and policies is to tell students how they
are expected to behave, the degree to which they are enforced or unenforced, or the ways in
which they are enforced, may communicate messages the undermine or contradict their stated
intent. In this case, stricter dress-code policies may communicate that students will be judged on
appearances both inside and outside of school, while looser policies might communicate that
they will be judged on other qualities.
• Personal Interactions
• Teachers and Student Relations
• Teaching Practices and the hidden curriculum relationship

https://www.edglossary.org/hidden-curriculum/

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-socialproblems/chapter/11-2-sociological-perspectives-on-
education/

References
Betkowski, A. (2023). “What is the Hidden Curriculum in Education.” Grand Canyon University. Retrieved
9th September 2023. https://www.gcu.edu/blog/teaching-school-administration/what-hidden-
curriculum-education

McLaren, P. (2007). “Critical Pedagogy: A look at the Major Concepts”, in Darder, A., M.P. Baltodano &
R.D. Torres (eds). The Critical Pedagogy Reader. Second edition. New York and London: Routledge, pp.
61-83.