Category: ecs203 (Page 2 of 2)

This week, I decided to take a look at the topic of hidden curriculum. More specifically, Jean Anyon’s article titled “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work.” I chose the topic of hidden curriculum because it is something that has been discussed many times in classes I have taken but I have never taken the time to actually learn more about it and how different circumstances can influence it. In this article, Anyon observed various classrooms of different social classes and then documented the differences in classroom experience and curriculum knowledge.

 I learned that from this experience, she noted that there were obvious similarities between the schools she observed, such as textbooks and tests. But she did find differences in the way schools from different social classes operated. For example, in working-class schools, Anyon found that students were expected to follow the steps of a procedure which was usually mechanical and involved very little choice and decision making. However, in a higher social class, the work done by students involves more creativity and more independent learning.

Another thing I learned while reading this article is that the different hidden curriculum in different social classes can cause students to develop different relationships with authority. For example, the working-class students are “developing a potential conflict relationship with capital” (Anyon, 1980, p.88), which aims to create workers who do little to create change in the system. The higher class students are “developing a potential relationship to capital that is instrumental and expressive and involves substantial negotiation” (Anyon, 1980, p.88).

If I continued down this path for my assignment, I would most likely focus on the topic of hidden curriculum rather than Jean Anyon. So, I would take some time to look through the University’s library database to find other articles or chapters about hidden curriculum in schools. Then I would need to read these articles or chapters while keeping Jean Anyon’s article in my mind so I could make comparisons between the pieces. I do not think I would want to focus entirely on Jean Anyon, but if I did I would have to find other works by her that would somewhat fit the topic of hidden curriculum.

Works Cited:

Anyon, J. (1980). SOCIAL CLASS AND THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM OF WORK. Journal of Education (Boston, Mass.), 162(1), 67-92.

There have been a few ways that I have experienced parts of the Tyler rationale in my schooling. Most of my experience with this rationale has specifically happened with classes such as math and science that typically have one method they expect all students to learn and then reproduce in exams. This was my experience; we would be told how we were supposed to learn something and we would be given a very specific timeline for doing so. My experience in some of these classes felt very similar to how it was described in the article by Smith where he describes it as “an approach to education and assessment which resembles a shopping list. When all the items are ticked, the person has passed the course or has learnt something” (2000, p.5). This is how some of my classes would feel, especially math or science. We would move through each unit and section as though we were checking things off a list and once the list was finished, we would have passed the course and learned something.

There are many limitations to the Tyler rationale. This can be a very restrictive way of looking at curriculum and it can be damaging to student individuality. Every student is different and every student learns differently. The Tyler rationale does not take this into account. It assumes every student will be able to learn everything the same way and have no trouble learning and retaining all of the information. This can cause students who struggle to learn in the way that is being taught to fall through the cracks. They will simply be considered a failure because they do not learn the same way as everyone else. Another limitation that is mentioned in the article is ‘teacher-proof’ curriculum. This makes it so teachers have no say in how they teach their class. They are forced to teach the same as every other teacher and they are forced to teach based on a strict schedule that is the same across multiple schools. This can hurt learners because students may have a harder time picking up certain subjects and if teachers are not allowed to spend extra time on those topics, students may never actually learn them.

However, there are some potential benefits to the Tyler rationale. The article points out that this way of approaching curriculum can be attractive because of how organized it is. There is a very clear set of objectives for teachers and students to meet. This makes it easy to organize content and evaluate performance. Another potential benefit to curriculum as a product was that “it involved detailed attention to what people needed to know in order to work, live their lives and so on” (2000, p.3). Both of these things can appeal to people who want to remain organized and not leave anything out and it also made evaluations easier for teachers since there was a very clear set of objectives that were to be met.

In “The Problem with Common Sense” from Kumashiro, he describes common sense as “what everyone should know” (2009, p.29). It is something that is traditionally done or thought in a community that one is expected to know or do without guidance. However, this does not necessarily mean that was is expected to be common sense is a good thing. This is why it is important to pay attention to what we deem “common sense.” When something is common sense, it is extremely unlikely to be changed or challenged. This can cause things to slip through the cracks, things that can be oppressive or restrictive. When these things become common sense it makes them harder to challenge because they become the norm that everyone expects to happen, for example, certain parts of curriculum that are not inclusive. People will not want it to change because it becomes a tradition; it becomes the way things are always done. This mindset privileges only certain perspectives while silencing all others.

One commonsense understanding I bring into this course about the curriculum is that the curriculum is a roadmap of things that students are expected to learn during the school year that is set out by the government. I also know that it is common sense to be expected to meet the curriculum no matter if there are any obstacles. I also bring some commonsense understandings about pedagogy. I know that it is common sense for pedagogies to adapt and change. I expect that I will know more about what is common sense when it comes to curriculum and pedagogy as I explore both things more and learn more about them during this class.