Hidden Curriculum - Report Example

Hidden Curriculum XXXXX Number: XXXXX of XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX 21 January 2009 Total Number of Words: 1474 words Introduction: A curriculum is one a course of study, mostly in a particular field. There a number of different curriculum courses available like science curriculum, math curriculum. These mainly are referred to keeping in one a particular class or grade level. These are generally taught through textbooks, work – books and lessons, thereby helping students improve and progress through the difficult skills for the subject curriculum (Wren, 1999). Here students are expected to master the subject before moving on to the next course. However there are a number of things that are not taught but are understood by all. This report aims at understanding Hidden Curriculums. The unwritten and unexplained behavior term refers to the Hidden Curriculum. This report will deal with an introduction to the concept and will also highlight the various factors that affect and influence the hidden curriculum. Also the report highlights a personal view for the subject and includes sections to portray the experiences and self – practices. Hidden Curriculum: As already mentioned earlier, hidden curriculum refers to the unwritten social rules and the various expectations of behavior which are never taught. These include things like arguing with a policeman even if he is wrong, or even sharing an off – color jokes in the class, no matter how funny the joke is (Ican, 2009). Also things like cheating in tests, and following the classroom rules are aspects that students learn really quickly as these are aspects that cannot be tolerated in the classrooms. All these are not explained however they become a part of the behavior of the students. This however is mainly because the students are aware of the possible consequences and it is up to the students to make the right choice. Factors Influencing the Hidden Curriculum: There are a number of factors that influence the hidden curriculum. Some of the factors are aspects like the teacher’s philosophy, bias, expectations, motivational techniques, self – concept, learning techniques, special needs, and learning groups. This section will highlight a few of the factors. Firstly, bias on the sides of both the teachers as well as the students, towards each other plays a very important role in the hidden curriculum. This has a very large impression on the learning of the students and these are moral issues which require a great deal of attention. Other aspects like the motivation techniques used by the teachers are a very important aspect of the learning curve for the students. It is essential that teachers consider every student and device a plan which helps teaching all the students. This will act as a motivating factor and will help ensure that students understand the importance of working and the importance of learning to learn. If students are happy with the lecturers then the students tend to take up more responsibilities and responsibilities for learning by teaching others also gets included into the hidden curriculum of the students. (Anderson, 2001) Also aspects like the classroom size and the arrangement of the furniture also play a very important role in the learning of the students. If a class is small, the teachers are able to provide a more attention to the students that in turn helps the student improve to a great extent (Loporchio, 2006). This is mainly because this is one of the expectations of the students to receive individual attention. This does not only help the students learn the curriculum but also helps the students learn the hidden curriculum. Thereby helping them improve as individuals and becoming better members of the team in turn (Margolis, 2001). Also the learning groups play a very important role. The individual learning styles suggest the individualized learning. Aldo all the learners have a different learning style both in terms of books as well as the unwritten codes of conduct. Experiences: Based on my own experience, I have had a number of times where I have had to work in a team. In such situations it is essential that every member of the teams takes up their responsibilities and work in accordance with the needs of the team for the benefit of all within the team. In one of the group projects undertaken, I was due to take up the responsibilities and provide the group with all the supplies. We were a group of 4 people, and each of us was assigned a particular task to be completed. The assignment that we had to complete had a total of four questions. Each of us was given one question each and I also took up the task of ensuring that all the questions were clubbed together and a clear-sorted report to be formatted. However the team members were not too studious and did not seem interested in the assignment at all. At every meeting, the members would end up late, and also once they arrived a lot of the time went off in discussions that were irrelevant to the assignment. This simply portrayed the curriculum of the other students, which highlighted the level of irresponsibility. It also portrays the hidden curriculum of conflicting interest of the students and the professor. Despite all my efforts at every possible stage of the project to try and make the members work as a team, this was not possible. At the last minute everyone did their parts, however these were not as per the instructions of the teacher and assignment had to be redone to ensure it met the criteria set down by the teacher. I had to complete the entire assignment alone by correcting every bodies work in the last minute. This was mainly because I did not want to loose out on my marks due to the irresponsible behavior of the team. This however is incorrect as the rest of team received the grades for an assignment that had no contribution of theirs. Thus I went ahead and complained to the lecturer, as this was not fair for the efforts I had put into completing the assignment. This has given others an impression that I am a nerd and not a team worker. Recommendations: Based on the research conducted and after having understood the concept of hidden curriculum, I have understood the basics of the concept. Even though I did report the group for not following the rules, I did not realize that it was in certain ways incorrect to do so. It is now better understood that pointing out mistakes of others in a group is incorrect. Even though it is essential, for the benefit of the others in the group, there are certain rules to be followed. Students should not report other students unless someone is in danger of getting hurt, also it is important to understand the fact that the working of all the members of a team is essential and it is the duty of the lecturer to ensure this is done (Gatto, 2002). In a case where students are not working, only the teacher is to blame, as they need to make sure that every body contributes equally to the team – work. After understanding the details of this concept, and in context of the experience that I have faced in the past, there are a number of things that I would change. Firstly, when considering a group of people working together in a team, it is essential to understand the hidden curriculum of all the members within the team. This is mainly because it is possible that the members within the team have conflicting curriculums thereby causing the behavior. Next, it is essential the understand that it is not the students responsibility to ensure that all the team member work in line with the rules set down by the teachers. It is for the teacher to ensure that every one is working and receives grades for the efforts put in by each of the members (Myles, et.al, 2004). Also, since the each student is given a certain amount of work to be done it is essential that the each of them takes up their own responsibility and work in accordance leaving the students who don’t work for the teachers to deal with the issue. Conclusion: Having understood the Hidden Curriculum concept it is essential to highlight the basics that have discussed. The concept mainly highlights the things that are not taught to the students in books. This mainly includes rules and basic behavior patterns that need to be understood by one self. These mainly include behaviors like taking up responsibility, being hard working etc. Thus based on all the research and understanding of the concept it is essential that the hidden curriculum is explained to the students till a minimum of the high school. This will help the students realize the importance of aspects of life and will allow the students to be along with being good students be better human beings. Bibliography Gatto, J.T., 2002, Dumbing us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, 1 February 2002, 2nd edition, New Society Publishers Ican, 2009, ‘Hidden Curriculum: Introduction’, Accessed on 18 January 2009, Retrieved from http://www.autismnetwork.org/modules/social/hidden/index.html Loporchio, A.F., 2006, The Hidden Curriculum, 30 October 2006, Vantage Press Margolis, E., 2001, The Hidden Curriculum in Higher Education, 1st edition, 23 March 2001, Routledge Falmer Myles, B. S., Trautman, M.L., and Schelvan, R.L., 2004, The Hidden Curriculum: Practical Solutions for understanding Unstated Rules in Social Situations, Illustrated Edition, 1 July 2004, Austim Asperger Publishing Company Wren, D.J., 1999, ‘School Culture: Exploring the hidden curriculum’, Accessed on 19 January 2009, Retrieved from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_135_34/ai_60302524 Read More