The Informal System and the “Hidden Curriculum”

085 蔡泽吟 叶水清 梁婷

OUTLINE

The Educational “Climate” and School Effectiveness

Reproduction theoryThe social control function of the hidden curriculum

The Open Systems Approach and the Informal System

The Open Systems Approach and the Informal System

Informal system of school

Unplanned experience that happen apart from or as a result of the formal, planned curriculum of schools

Informal system of school

Microlevel: coping strategies of individual students and teachers;

Macrolevel: structure and

culture of schools

input organization output

feedback

Internal systemStructure: hierarchy, rules, regulationsRoles: administratiors, teachers, students

Informal system: hidden curriculum, climate, power relations, unanticipated consequences

Hidden curriculum

Definition — “implicit demands that are found……”

“some of the outcomes or by-products of schools or of non-school settings, particularly those states which are learned but not openly intended.”

p.259 By Snyder

From: Wikipedia

Syllabus for Course 101

Instructor: Names

Text: Names

Course topic: Listed

Requirements:

Readings ……

Bibliography

Hidden curriculum

What should I call the instructor?

Read it or not?

What to learn? Interested or not?

• Visible curriculum

What do I really have to do to get by?

Am I really supposed to use this?

Synonyms unwritten / unstudied

/ tacit / latent / unnoticed / paracurriculum

P260

Reproduction theoryThe social control function of the hidden curriculum

Reproduction theory

According to conflict theory, hidden curriculum reproduces the social class of students.

hidden curriculum serves to maintain the status quo, specifically the dominant culture and prevailing socioeconomic hierarchy

How to reproduce the social class?

How to reproduce the social class?

Different school experiences

hidden curriculum teach students the routines for getting along in school and the larger society

hidden curriculum contains a social and economic agenda

give elites more freedom and opportunity;

train non-elites to accept their lots as obedient, punctual workers (p260)

How to reproduce the social class?

Different behavioral expectations

Schools serving more affluent students create environments vastly different from that of schools serving poor students

Students try to find the approved responses among the mixed message

e.g. report card---conveying the messages how students are expected to behave

Report card

traditional school report cards contained a section for teachers to record individual comments about the student's work and behavior.

“puts forth good effort; completes work on time; shows respect of others; follows classroom and school rules; talks at appropriate time; expresses ideas clearly; participates in class discussions; …”

THE EDUCATIONAL “CLIMATE” AND SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS

The Definition of “Climate”

“Climate refers to a general social condition that characterizes a group, organization, or community, such as the general opinion in a community” ( Brookover, Erickson, and McEvoy, 1996)

THE EDUCATIONAL “CLIMATE” AND SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS

The Value Climate

The School Climate and Effective Schools School culture School learning climate

Classroom Learning Climate Classroom codes: interaction in the classroom

Student Friendship and Interaction Patterns in the Classroom Seating arrangements and physical conditions in classrooms and schools Size of school and classroom Architecture of schools

What is “The Value Climate”?

Each major research project concerned with the value climate has include slightly different research questions, variables, methods, and settings, resulting in conclusions that are often diverse and even contradictory.

So how does “Value Climate” form?

Schools teach more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. Both the formal and informal organization include lessons in values and morals. (Philip Jackson 1993)

Moral education came in other forms, such as:

Rituals and ceremonies in schools

Some moral messages were not taught, but absorbed as part of the educational environment.

And so on…

Holiday celebrations such as Martin Luther King Day.

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