As we know that learning produces a desired change in students’ behavior. Either this change may be the result of planned and deliberate efforts by the teachers/schools or it may be the result of unplanned or unintentional events or processes taking place inside the school. In other words, learning may be either intended or unintended. Intended learning occurs as a result of planned or overt curriculum. It takes place either inside the school or outside the school in a controlled setting. It is usually endorsed by the state and implemented by the teachers. The outcomes of formal/overt curriculum can be assessed by teachers/institutions through various assessment tools.
On the other hand, students learn many things unintentionally while they are in school. This type of learning, unintended learning, takes place as a result of hidden curriculum. Various things are responsible for it. It may emanate from the moral or disciplinary environment of the school, from the relationship between teachers and students, and students themselves. And in the broader sense from the way the students understand and give meaning to different things around them in the school or in the classroom. In the past, very little attention has been paid to this type of learning but with the passage of time, it is getting more and more importance due to its substantial share in the overall development and learning of children.
Historically, the idea of hidden curriculum emerged from the research studies conducted in the second half of twentieth century by different research.
In 1968, Jackson showed that living in a crowd of age-mates, learning to defer gratification and learning one’s place in a variety of pecking orders constitutes indelible consequences of schooling, perhaps more powerful than intended subject matter.
In 1961, Durkheim writes in his book ”Moral Education”:
"In fact, there is a whole system of rules in the school that predetermine the child’s conduct. He must come to class regularly; he must arrive at a specified time and with an appropriate bearing and attitude. He must not disrupt things in class. He must have learned his lessons, done his homework, and have done so reasonably well, etc. There are, therefore, a host of obligations that the child is required to shoulder. Together they constitute the discipline of the school. It is through the practice of school discipline that we can inculcate the spirit of discipline in the child".
The concept of hidden curriculum can be easily understood by perusing the following definitions presented by different educationists and researchers.
Hidden curriculum (Martin, Jane, 1983: 122–139) is a side effect of education, lessons which are learned but not openly intended such as the transmission of norms, values, and beliefs conveyed in the classroom and the social environment.”
Hidden curriculum (Print, 1993: 9-16) refers to the outcomes of education and/or the processes leading to those outcomes, which are not explicitly intended by educators. These outcomes are generally not explicitly intended because they are not stated by teachers in their oral or written lists of objectives nor are they included in educational statements of intent such as syllabi, school policy documents or curriculum projects.
According to Ornstein and Hunkins (2004), covert curriculum refers to the behaviors and attitudes conveyed in the classrooms and schools that often go unnoticed and unmentioned because they were never explicitly stated as expected.
Glatthorn(1987) defines hidden curriculum as “covert curriculum refers to those aspects of schooling, other than the intentional curriculum, that seem to produce changes in learners’ values, perceptions, and behaviors”.
Hidden curriculum refers to the unwritten, unofficial, and often unintended lessons, values, and perspectives that students learn in school.
Longstreet and Shane (1993) offer a commonly accepted definition of hidden curriculum “The hidden curriculum refers to the kinds of learnings children derive from the very nature and organizational design of the public school, as well as from the behaviors and attitudes of teachers and administrators.
Conclusion
Hidden curriculum doesn’t exist in written or physical form.
Hidden curriculum may be either intended or unintended
The effects of hidden curriculum on students learning and behaviors may be either positive or negative.
Hidden curriculum encompasses a substantial part of students’ learning.
Hidden curriculum emerges from the organizational, social and cultural variables of schools.
Hidden curriculum is neither stated nor endorsed by the state or institutions.
Hidden curriculum operates implicitly inside the school or classroom.
Hidden curriculum usually transmits norms, values and beliefs.
Hidden curriculum plays an important role in shaping students’ outlooks and attitudes.
Hidden curriculum is the socialization process of schooling.
Hidden curriculum may enhance, reduce or even neutralize the effects of overt/planned curriculum.
References
DURKHEIM, E (1961). Moral Education. New York: Free Press.
Glatthorn, A.As. (1987).Curriculum Leadership. Glenview Ill, Scott, Foresman and Company Retrieved on 13/12/2016 from http://www.academia.edu/8925551/overt_and_covert_curriculum.
JACKSON, P.W. (1968) Life in Classrooms, New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Longstreet, W.S. and Shane, H.G. (1993) Curriculum for a new millennium. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Martin, Jane. (1983:122-139)"What Should We Do with a Hidden Curriculum When We Find One?" The Hidden Curriculum and Moral Education. Ed. Giroux, Henry and David Purpel.
