Table of Contents
Definition of Hidden Curriculum
(noun) Informal, unintended, and unwritten non-academic knowledge gained from peers.
Hidden Curriculum Pronunciation
Syllabification: hid·den cur·ric·u·lum
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /hId-n kuhr-rIk-yuh-luhm/
- British English – /hIdn kuh-rIk-yu-luhm/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈhɪdən kəˈrɪkjələm/
- British English – /ˈhɪdn kəˈrɪkjʊləm/
Usage Note
- Plural: hidden curricula
- Hidden curriculum has such an impact because education is a primary agent of socialization.
Related Quotation
- “Second to the family, the school acts as a powerful agent of socialization. It is the first formal agency charged with the task of socializing children and represents the first link to the wider world. In school, children must learn not only basic skills needed in the society but also the hidden curriculum of how to cope successfully in a competitive environment. American schools have often been hotbeds of controversy (school prayer, standards, teacher performance, common core, etc.), probably because they are recognized as being such important socializing agents. Schools are also used as socialization agents for the labor market. In that function, they are expected to teach manners, respect for authority, and the development of basic social skills. At the same time, schools manage to stress certain cultural values (such as competition) and disseminate the idea that the society of which students are a part is superior to others. This is the hidden curriculum that schools impart above and beyond basic skills” (Perry and Perry 2016:92–93).
Related Videos
Additional Information
- Word origin of “hidden” and “curriculum” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Hargreaves, D. H. 1978. “Power and the Paracurriculum.” Pp. 97–108 in Power and the Curriculum: Issues in Curriculum Studies, edited by C. Richards. Driffield, England: Nafferton.
- Henry, Jules. 1965. Culture Against Man. New York: Random House.
- Hinton, S. E. [1967] 2007. The Outsiders. 40th Anniversary ed. New York: Viking.
- Jackson, Phillip W. 1968. Life in Classrooms. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
- Popular Press and Blogs:
Related Terms
- anticipatory socialization
- cultural capital
- education
- formal education
- grade inflation
- homework
- informal education
- No Child Left Behind Act
- tracking
- youth culture
Reference
Perry, John A., and Erna K. Perry. 2016. Contemporary Society: An Introduction to Social Science. New York: Routledge.
Works Consulted
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Cite the Definition of Hidden Curriculum
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “hidden curriculum.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 20, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/hidden-curriculum/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
hidden curriculum. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/hidden-curriculum/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “hidden curriculum.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/hidden-curriculum/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“hidden curriculum.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/hidden-curriculum/>.