Hidden Curriculum Research

As time passes, individuals are quick to recognize academic and technological advances and adapt accordingly. The society we live in today is always ready to infuse the most innovative and up to date methods into their lifestyle, regardless if it is a private or public good. Interestingly, when it comes to education, we believe that we are doing the same. Technology is becoming more and more involved in all K-12 classrooms. However, while the classroom materials advance and new methods of teaching trickle in, there is still a problem. As Jean Anyon (1980) would point out, “there exists a hidden curriculum in the classroom”. This idea resides in the fact that while schools are advancing there is an issue, a hidden curriculum, in which students are taught according to their social class. This idea reinforces the class struggle that Karl Marx had become an advocate for. The idea that capitalism only contributes to classism and that the societal ramifications of this class divide will influence other factors, such as education. Jean Anyon’s researched four different types of schools: a working class, middle-class, affluent professional, and an executive school. What Anyon found in her research was that as the social class in the classroom increased, as did expectations and
It is a never ending cycle that is produced because of capitalism. A hidden curriculum does exist. And while society is able to make groundbreaking advancements in other aspects of our society, the same needs to be done for education. No longer should classrooms resemble the age old “factory model”. What needs to be done is productivity reform in the classroom, a new model that eliminates this hidden curriculum. A model that allows all students to learn advanced curriculum, regardless of their social class, and explore the same venues of knowledge and