Education Hidden Curriculum

Question 1

What is the hidden curriculum?

Answer 1

The hidden curriculum exists alongside this formal curriculum and involved the hidden, informal messages and lessons that come from the way schooling is organised and run

Question 2

According to functionalists, what does school teach?

Answer 2

• a sense of belonging and commitment to a bigger society

- a shared belief in the importance of cooperation

Question 3

According to Bowles and Gintis, what is the main role of the hidden curriculum?

Answer 3

To produce an exploitable workforce for capitalists

Question 4

According to Marxists, how are schools organised to correspond with the needs of the workplace?

Answer 4

• high grades are awarded to pupils who conform rather than those who think critically and creatively
• schools are based on hierarchy in which pupils obey teachers
• you are taught to be motivated by external rewards such as exam success
• rather than teaching a sense of commitment to a social group, school divides pupils as they compete with one another

Question 5

What messages does education give to women?

Answer 5

• boys careers are more important than girls careers. Teachers encouraged boys more than girls in pursuing careers
• boys are smarter than girls
• senior positions in education are disproportionately held by men. This reinforces the message that makes are and should be dominant