Page 1 of 11
562
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol.7, No.10
Publication Date: October 25, 2020
DOI:10.14738/assrj.710.9223.
Boadu, K., Boadu, G., & Nyame, G. (2020). The Hidden Curriculum and Classroom Procedure: Informed Personal Views of Teachers.
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 7(10) 562-572.
The Hidden Curriculum and Classroom Procedure: Informed
Personal Views of Teachers
Kankam Boadu
University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Gideon Boadu
University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Gloria Nyame
University of Cape Coast, Ghana
ABSTRACT
The study examined how teachers perceived the hidden curriculum. A
sample size of twenty teachers was purposively selected and involved in
the study. Data were collected through interviews, and the emerging
themes formed the focus of the analyses. The study found that teachers
possessed a good understanding of the hidden curriculum and its
features. Again, teachers perceived the hidden curriculum as important
to the teaching and learning process. It was also observed that due
attention should be given to its uses. It was concluded that teachers
perceived the hidden curriculum positively as it matters to effective
teaching and learning.
Keywords: hidden curriculum, societal values, classroom procedure,
teachers, learners.
INTRODUCTION
Society has always passed on its knowledge, values, norms, and traditions to the younger
generation. The purpose of this cultural transmission is firstly, to enable the young ones integrate
into the society, and secondly, to ensure the continuity and survival of the human society. In Ghana,
the traditional agent for this transmission of cultural values was the home, which through such
media as oral accounts, folktales, apprenticeship, observation, and the application of common
knowledge, effectively handed down the traditional values from one generation to another.
However, owing to the characteristic change society is subjected to, largely as a result of modernity
and the galloping rate of industrialisation, most of the customary media for cultural and values
transmission have been rendered less effective.
Nowadays, the task of integrating young ones into society has been assumed by schools, where
educators expose learners to various learning experiences and branches of knowledge that are
deemed significant for the progress of society. The very essence of schools, therefore, is to transmit
the salient knowledge, cultures, and traditions of society to learners (Skelton, 1997). This is aimed
at equipping learners with the knowledge, values, skills, and dispositions necessary for the
Page 2 of 11
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.710.9223 563
Boadu, K., Boadu, G., & Nyame, G. (2020). The Hidden Curriculum and Classroom Procedure: Informed Personal Views of Teachers. Advances in Social
Sciences Research Journal, 7(10) 562-572.
continuity and survival of the human society. For this reason, the school curriculum has become a
matter of great concern for society.
The idea of curriculum is not limited to what is prescribed in official documents, or a specified
corpus of knowledge and procedures to be followed by teachers and learners, or a litany of
objectives to be achieved. Rather, it embraces all the experiences learners are exposed to in the
school setting, both overtly or covertly, and/or wittingly or unwittingly. This includes, but not
limited to the observations learners make from school staff and peers, what learners hear others
say, activities learners undertake, and what schools stand for, that is, school culture and philosophy.
Schubert (2010b) observes that these experiences may relate to the mannerisms of teachers, values
such as politeness or interest in learning, social activities, reward systems, functions of personality
(either positive or negative), and others that learners often pick up easily and fully than what
teachers actually intend. In most cases, these experiences are not made explicit in official
programmes of instruction. They are perceived as additional, indirect and unintended aspects of
school life. These unintended aspects tend to shape learners’ outlook, their general orientation to
issues, and also become the storehouse of values and dispositions which is often carried on into
future life.
Even though what is prescribed (official curriculum) and what teachers actually transact in the
classroom (actual curriculum) may convey such values in elusive forms, they are likely to be
overlooked since they do not always form the explicit focus of lessons. Boostrom (2010a) thus
stresses that the hidden curriculum is so-called because it is not captured in the statement of
expected learning outcomes and may not even be perceived by teachers as a planned outcome of
instruction.
Its implicit nature notwithstanding, the hidden curriculum is an effective means through which
learners imbibe morals, norms, and behaviours. Though these behaviours are seldom stated as
curricular objectives, their effects become pronounced when cultured (Thornton, 2010). Hence, it
is germane to emphasise this aspect of school life that is implicit as it tends to influence learners
greatly. This is because inasmuch as the official and actual curricula are important for the
acquisition of educational goals and aspirations, the hidden curriculum is also significant for
attainment of lifelong values and dispositions.
A glance across most schools in Ghana reveals that most teachers do not attach much importance to
the subtle messages and values often learned quietly by learners. Dickerson (2007), in this light,
observes that even though the stated curriculum is often studied, little or no effort is devoted to the
hidden curriculum and the impact that it has on the school and learners’ lives. Presently, the over- reliance on the official curriculum to the utmost neglect of the hidden curriculum continues to
plague classroom procedure. It is therefore not uncommon to hear teachers make such statements
as ‘take what I say but do not watch what I do’ or ‘do what I tell you but do not do what I do’, in most
classrooms. These statements are often made oblivious of the fact it is relatively easier for learners
to pick up the manners and way of life of teachers and other actors in the school and internalise
them better than even what is actually taught.
Page 3 of 11
564
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol.7, Issue 9, September-2020
With the lack of critical attention to the hidden curriculum, it is reasonable to conceive that teachers
either possess deficient understanding of its nature and worth, or they are overly attached to the
official curriculum. The overarching purpose that this study addresses, therefore, is to examine how
teachers perceive the hidden curriculum. The researchers’ quest to finding participants view(s) to
this often unattended research, necessitated this study.
CONCEPTUAL ISSUES
Educational programs identify two sorts of curricula: that which is mostly prepared by authorities
and contains a detailed description of objectives and activities, and that which comprises essentials
which are not clearly and definitively laid out (Yüksel, 2005). Like the term ‘curriculum’, the idea of
hidden curriculum has been viewed with different lenses and from different angles and
orientations. Dickerson (2007) stresses that the hidden curriculum is a complex subject to
understand because it is flexible and elusive in nature. Dickerson (2007) maintains that addressing
the hidden curriculum requires more than an understanding a set of concrete rules. Its complexity
notwithstanding, attempts have been made at describing the concept.
According to Boostrom (2010a), the term ‘hidden curriculum’ is often used in two quite different
ways in curriculum studies. The commonest usage refers to student learning that is not described
by curriculum planners or teachers as an explicit aim of instruction, even though it results from
deliberate practices and organisational structures. The second usage of the term concerns student
learning that teachers do not intend and may not be aware of, or knowledge learners ought to
acquire, but do not, because it is not part of the official curriculum. In a similar but broader view,
Schubert (2010a) conceives that the hidden curriculum has three meanings. Firstly, it connotes the
subtle messages that educators intend to convey, such as politeness or interest in learning.
Secondly, it describes the subtle messages that educators convey without intent due to personal
mannerisms. Thirdly, it refers to the conveyance of structural attributes of the larger society in
which the educational organisation is embedded.
Meanwhile, Skelton (1997) had earlier on proffered that the hidden curriculum is a set of implicit
messages bothering on knowledge, values, norms of behaviour, and attitudes that learners
experience in and through the process of education. Thus, one could view the hidden curriculum as
a metaphor that describes the ill-defined and amorphous nature of that which is implicit and
embedded in school life (Sambell & McDowell, 1998). Giroux (2001) views the hidden curriculum
as what is taught and how one learns in the school. Giroux (2001) notes that schools do not only
provide instruction but also norms and principles that learners experience throughout their
education life. To Cowell (1972), the hidden curriculum is that which the school teaches without, in
general, intending or being aware that it is taught.
Jackson (1968) identifies three elements of the hidden curriculum namely, the crowded nature of
the classroom in which pupils have to cope with delays, denial of their desires, and social
distractions; contradictory allegiances required by both teachers and peers; and unequal power
relations given to teachers over pupils. These three elements give rise to norms of behaviour in
classrooms, that is, “the sum total of unofficial institutional expectations, values and norms aimed
at by educational administrators, and perhaps teachers and to a lesser extent parents, and which
are initially completely unknown to the students” (Portelli, 1993, p. 345).
Page 4 of 11
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.710.9223 565
Boadu, K., Boadu, G., & Nyame, G. (2020). The Hidden Curriculum and Classroom Procedure: Informed Personal Views of Teachers. Advances in Social
Sciences Research Journal, 7(10) 562-572.
Vallance (1973) also notes three dimensions of the hidden curriculum: contexts of schooling which
embraces student-teacher interaction, classroom structure, and the whole organisational pattern of
the educational establishment; processes operating in or through schools, including values
acquisition, socialisation, and maintenance of class structure; and degrees of intentionality and
depth of hiddenness by the investigator. She observes that there might be unintended outcomes of
schooling, but these outcomes may not be nearly as unintended as one thinks. The foregoing
descriptions of the hidden curriculum reflect three traditional perspectives: the functional, liberal,
and critical perspectives. The functionalist perspective of the hidden curriculum highlights how
schools contribute to the maintenance of social order and stability. It views schools as the pathways
to learning the norms, values, and skills required to function and contribute meaningfully to society
(Skelton, 1997).
The functional perspective also points to the ways in which pupils are overtly socialised into future
adult roles (Dickerson, 2007). In this light, Livesey (as cited in Dickerson, 2007, p. 41) observes that
society is viewed as a functioning system that operates for peoples’ ultimate benefit. The liberal
perspective regards the hidden curriculum as the assumptions and practices of school life which are
often taken for granted. Liberalists are hence poised to expose the implicit aspects of school life like
rules and regulations, codes of conduct, organisation of learning, and classroom interactions. They
seek to make these assumptions explicit so that the everyday practices of schools come to light
(Skelton, 1997). The critical perspective on the hidden curriculum recognises the effects of social
forces on learners and teachers in schools.
The common idea that runs through the discussion so far is that the hidden curriculum is not
explicitly defined, hence unwritten. The discussion also establishes that the hidden curriculum
bothers on the ideas and practices that emerge during the process of teaching and learning. It
therefore embraces the knowledge, ideas, and experiences which are key to success in school aside
the official curriculum.
THE WORTH OF THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM
Curriculum specialists believe that the formal curriculum is not the only medium by which students
learn in schools. Much of the knowledge learners acquire is through the interactions which arise
from the social and educational environments provided by schools (Hashemii, Fallahi, Aojinejad &
Samavi, 2012). In most cases, the effect of the hidden curriculum is more pronounced than the effect
of the formal curriculum even though it is often hard to fathom exactly how much is happening just
beneath the surface of organisational life (O’Donnell, 2014).
Mehrmohammadi (2008) observes that the hidden curriculum plays a tremendous role in shaping
the experiences of learners. Mehrmohammadi (2008) further notes that presenting the learning
experiences of students without recourse to the hidden curriculum is an incomplete and ineffective
endeavour that does not present teaching wholly. This is because many of education’s most
profound and positive teachings, for example accuracy, precision, self-control, and self-discipline,
can be conveyed in the hidden curriculum.
Jackson (as cited in Boostrom, 2010b) conveys a similar viewpoint by intimating that the hidden
curriculum is a powerful shaper of student experience, and ignoring it would mean missing much
of the most significant and lasting student learning by the ordinary methods of teaching. This
Page 5 of 11
566
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol.7, Issue 9, September-2020
implies that the consequences of the inability to enforce the hidden curriculum are far more serious
than learners’ inability to grasp the actual curriculum alone (Boostrom, 2010a). Dickerson (2007)
adds that the hidden curriculum provides an impetus for making sense out of the complex school
culture as a prerequisite to maximising its positive effect on learners and helping them to be
successful after school. In other words, it is a means by which the positive values, prejudices, and
ways of life that are part of the surrounding society and culture can be reinforced by educational
institutions (Schubert, 2010b).
Empirically, the hidden curriculum has important ramifications for teaching, learning, and
character formation. For instance, Sari (2007) studied students’ participation in social activities and
reported that students who participated in social activities had a lower discipline problem potential
as compared to students who showed no interest in social activities. This suggests that the hidden
curriculum helps to reduce discipline problems of students, which in no mean measure enhances
the classroom procedure and also shape students’ lives.
Similarly, Cubukcu (2012) investigated the effect of the hidden curriculum on the character
education process of primary school students in the province of Eskişehir, in Turkey. The findings
of the study showed that the hidden curriculum provided both direct and indirect support for the
implementation of social and cultural activities performed in elementary schools. These activities
enhanced communication between students and played important roles in actualising the purposes
of education. Also, Bayanfar (2013) conducted a study on the effect of hidden curriculum on the
academic achievement of high school students. The results of the study revealed that the social and
physical effects of the hidden curriculum on deep, meaningful and lasting learning of students in
most schools were undesirable, nevertheless, these effects increased academic achievement scores.
Yousefzadeh (2014) probed into the role of elements of hidden curriculum in learning life skills
among university students. The study disclosed that the hidden curriculum played a key role in
learning life skills among students.
The findings indicated that hidden curriculum elements such as instructor-student relation, staff- student relation and student-student relation affected the learning of life skills among students.
Another study was conducted by Hadizadeh, Jafari, Sangsefidi and Gasemnejhad (2015) on the
relationship between the hidden curriculum and students’ exemplary behaviour. The study
reported that there was a meaningful correlation between the hidden curriculum and its
constituents (organisational structure, existing relations and physical structure) and exemplary
behaviour of students. This connotes that the hidden curriculum contributes to shaping the
behaviour of students. It operates in together with the official curriculum to bring about cognitive,
character, and attitudinal dispositions that can stretch across the entire life of learners, both in and
out of school.
Some researchers (Deutsch & Ferguson, 2004; Finkelman, 2006), however, contend that the hidden
curriculum has far negative effects on learners and teachers. For instance, Deutsch and Ferguson
(2004) argues that the hidden curriculum sometimes puts undue limitations to learner behaviour
in the classroom and in the school which may be a hindrance to learning. Again, according to them,
the hidden curriculum may limit teachers’ instruction because it compels them to spend
instructional time teaching learners how to behave instead of concentrating on content and other
important skills. Notwithstanding this argument, it is worth noting that the hidden curriculum is
Page 6 of 11
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.710.9223 567
Boadu, K., Boadu, G., & Nyame, G. (2020). The Hidden Curriculum and Classroom Procedure: Informed Personal Views of Teachers. Advances in Social
Sciences Research Journal, 7(10) 562-572.
not necessarily manipulative. Rather, the atmosphere, character, and values of schools are critical
for spiritual, character, and value education (Seddon, 1983).
METHODOLOGY
The study was qualitative in nature as it sought the perspectives of participants on the hidden
curriculum and presented them in a textual and non-numeric form. The justification for adopting a
qualitative paradigm lies in the fact that it prefers a natural setting as the primary source of data
and an accurate and rich description and explanation of phenomenon from the perspectives of
participants (Bogdan & Biklen, 2003). This approach thus enabled the researcher to understand the
views and positions of participants on the study subject. A sample size of 20 teachers was used for
the study. This was drawn from four public Senior High Schools in the Cape Coast metropolitan area,
and comprised eight females and twelve males. This sample size was deemed appropriate because
samples in qualitative studies are not meant to be representative of large populations, but small and
purposeful samples of well-informed participants are used (Reid, 1996).
The teachers were purposively selected on the criterion that they had taught for a minimum of five
years and therefore, could provide the depth of information needed to illuminate the phenomenon
under study. Data were collected mainly through interview sessions with each of the participants,
guided by a self-developed interview guide. The interview guide was semi-structured. This ensured
flexibility in questioning by way of the use of probes and also allowed participants express their
views freely inasmuch as responses were in tune with the purpose of the study.
In analysing the data, three steps were followed. The first step was data transformation. Under this
step, audio records of the interviews were manually transcribed into text. This ensured the removal
of all overlapping statements and helped to obtain verbatim accounts of participants’ views. The
second step was response categorisation. Here, common patterns in the responses were grouped
under identifiable headings or themes to aid the presentation. In the third step, the emerging
themes were presented using narrative notes, and verbatim cases from participants were cited to
put the results in perspective.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Four key themes emerged from the data. These were grouped under the following headings:
teachers’ views of the hidden curriculum, features of the hidden curriculum, importance of the
hidden curriculum, and attention to the hidden curriculum. These formed the central issues around
which the results were presented.
Teachers’ views of the hidden curriculum
The hidden curriculum is often conceived differently by individuals and groups owing to diverse
ideological, educational or intellectual exposures and orientations. It is thus not uncommon to find
two specialists describe the phenomenon in different ways and unequal detail. Under this theme,
the issue of how participants’ viewed and understood the hidden curriculum was addressed.
Responses indicated that participants understood the hidden curriculum as school activities that
are not planned formally or officially. They reckoned that the hidden curriculum is not a
conspicuous phenomenon and so not amenable to physical examination or scrutiny. For instance, a
participant remarked that “the hidden curriculum is the curriculum that is not seen, but which the
student undergoes indirectly”. This response point to the fact that a lot happens in the school