All educational institutions not only teach an explicit curriculum but also a hidden curriculum, which Perry Shaw describes as “the potent sociological and psychological dimensions of education, which are usually caught rather than intentionally taught.” He further explains that the hidden curriculum is made up of “pervasive environmental features”, including:
- the nature of behaviours which are encouraged
- the type of relationships modeled
- the values emphasised in the learning community.
Shaw illustrates the power of the hidden curriculum:
Mary was a young twenty-eight year-old woman who taught a Sunday School class of ten year-olds. Mary was teaching the children the importance of loving one another. During the class over half the questions were answered by “good” Christine; when it came time to pray, Christine was asked to do so; when a passage was to be read, Christine read; and on top of all this, the offering was taken up by Christine. Meanwhile two particularly active and playful boys— George and John—received frequent rebukes, were spoken to harshly, and finally sent to the Sunday School Superintendent.
Shaw reflects:
Now while Mary’s lesson was supposedly on loving one another, the real lesson she taught—the hidden curriculum of her lesson—was this: “love is conditional on good behavior”; “love has favorites”; and “there are some who simply cannot be loved.”
Reference: Perry W.H. Shaw, “The Hidden Curriculum of Seminary Education” in Journal of Asian Mission 8:1-2 (2006) 23-51
Posted April 3, 2011
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