Hidden Curriculum

Critical issues facing educators today include; educational inequity, socio-economic status of students, cultural diversity, stereotyping, dominate cultural paradigms, and social disadvantage. Because of these issues, educators will be best prepared for classroom life if they find ways to adapt and modify the learning environment in order, to provide for inclusive regardless of the learners needs. All children in Australia are presented with the opportunity to attend schools which are designed to be inclusive for any and all abilities. Due to the diverse nature of the school age population in Australia classrooms are made up of an assortment of needs in relation to social, cognitive, and physical areas of learning.

Despite the debates about social class, the United States is usually described as having four major social classes, the elite or upperclass, the middle class, the working class, and the lower class (Goldscmidt). Classes are generally differentiated by income, education, and occupation although other factors do have an effect. The upperclass consists of about 1% of the population making 750,000 dollars or more a year as investors, top executives, or heirs to large fortunes (Hughes and Jenkins). There tends to be no question about who is in the upperclass as they are pretty clearly isolated in their power and wealth. The middle class makes up about 40% of the population making anywhere from 40,000 to 749,999 dollars a year (Hughes and Jenkins). The large disparity in income and wealth have led to a further division of this class into upper-middle class and middle class in some circles. The middle class usually work white collar jobs as professionals and managers, however some highly skilled blue collar workers are included. Those in the middle class have usually obtained higher education degrees and place a high value on individual responsibility for one’s class (Goldschmidt). The working class is composed of about 50% of the population earning 13,000 to 39,000 dollars a year (Hughes and Jenkins). Some also divide this class into a working class and a

In Jean Anyon’s essay, “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work”, she discusses how she observed various classrooms across New Jersey in an attempt to find proof that schools taught comprehension and provided altered education opportunities based on the level of social class.

Writing Focus: Reflect on your fieldwork or teaching experiences. Include a question for discussion with the critique.

Many issues in the 1900’s have been affecting jobs, social classes, and student’s education. In particular, fifth graders are being divided by their parents work level. Because this is happening, students will have unequal fairness on the outcome of the education they will receive. Jean Anyon, the author of “From Social Class And The Hidden Curriculum Of Work,” employs important concepts and powerful illustration to prove that the parents work level affects their children’s quality of education.

What does social class mean? Social class means a division of a society based on social and economic status. Now, what does hidden curriculum mean? Hidden Curriculum means a side effect of education, such as norms, values and beliefs in the classroom. Accordingly, Jean Anyon’s, author of “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” claims that each and every social class has it’s own very different way of teaching in schools. Anyon states a plethora of strengths and weaknesses in this article. She believes that all children have been taught to learn, comprehend, and behavior in plenty of different ways due to the social class’s they have been thrown into. Anyon examined each social class which have been named The Working Class, The Middle Class, The Affluent Professional Class, and lastly The Executive Elite Class. An educational perspective came well from her work view point and based off it - I have thrown in my own opinion by agreeing with her during this essay.

Jean Anyon in her article “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” argues that students receive a different education based on their community and the setting in which that community is located. Jean Anyon’s article was published in the Journal of Education, Volume 162, no. 1, in Fall 1980. Between September, 1978 and June 1979, Jean studied fifth grade classrooms in five various elementary schools. During these months, she collected substantial information from examining each classroom, discussing with teachers, students and administrators, and evaluating course materials. Anyon divided the five schools into four categories: the executive elite schools, affluent professional schools, middle-class schools, and the working class schools.

Anyon establishes pathos in her research paper as well, in order to make administrators, teachers, and scholars feel angry and sympathetic towards the curriculum of lower class schools hindering students from elevating themselves out of their poor social class. Anyon reviews her overall experience with the working-class school teacher’s attitude towards the students and explains, “Only three times did the investigator hear a teacher in either working-class school preface a directive with an unsarcastic “please,” or ‘let’s’ or ‘would you.’ Instead, the teacher said, ‘Shut up,’ ‘Shut your mouth,’ ‘Open your books,’”(Anyon 259). Anyon conveys the oppression that children from lower-class schools face compared to how amazing the education is in

Ever wonder what kind of education we obtained or what kind of education children are receiving? According to Jean Anyon, “...the ‘hidden curriculum’ of schoolwork is tacit preparation for relating to the process of production in a particular way. Differing curricular, pedagogical, and pupil evaluation practices emphasize different cognitive and behavioral skill in each social setting and thus contribute to the development in the children of certain potential relationships to physical and symbolic capital, to authority, and to the process of work” (151). Therefore, Anyon believes that schools are not focusing on giving children the proper education and instead they provide the education based on the community’s social-class. Based on “‘I Just Wanna Be Average’” by Mike Rose and my academic experience both stories give interesting points of views regarding the type of education that was given. In Rose’s story, Rose is a young man who lived in a working class community but attended a middle class high school. Rose received a working class education but soon a new teacher arrived and changed his academic experience. In my personal experience, I grew up in a middle class neighborhood and received a middle class and a few affluent professional schooling, but moved to a working class community and started to receive a working class education. Anyon’s claim would complicate based on Rose’s story and on the education I have received based on the areas where I have lived. Every

Jean Anyon (1980), who is a professor of educational policy has written an influential article regarding the social class structure of education. Anyon’s article “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” is aimed at professional educators and written to raise awareness about the massive disparity in educational environments between wealthy and poor communities. Most importantly, Anyon addresses the distinct methods and philosophies of education through thorough observations of five elementary schools conducted over a full school year. In fact, Anyon discovered that fifth-grade students of various financial backgrounds are being prepared to indulge in professions determined by their positions on the socio-economic ladder. Anyon’s comprehensive

There are schools all around the world that abide by certain curriculums and guidelines due to their location or their students. In her article “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work,” Anyon focuses on four distinct school systems, which include working class schools, middle-class schools, affluent professional schools, and executive elite schools. The working class school system is designed to teach students to follow the steps of a procedure with very little decision making. The middle-class school system accentuates doing your work and getting the correct answer; information is also introduced through the textbooks. The affluent professional school emphasizes the use of creativity in school work, and students are also asked to

Mantsios’ article explores the idea that there is a hidden curriculum in lower class schools that causes the working class to remain in the working class due to their education. He provides a great statistical chart that shows students who were from wealthier families scored significantly higher than students who were from lower class families. Anyon’s “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” directly relates to this. Anyon’s goal was to discover that hidden curriculum that Mantsios talks about. Anyon studied schools and found that the working class schools focused on explanations as

When figuring out where African American culture derived from many ideas may come to mind. Culture is a set of values, customs, or beliefs held by a group of people. African American culture is composed of many things when it comes to the musical aspect. Today’s music and African American music from slavery days are related. Dances, songs, and performance habits are well alive and being weaved into todays culture.

Another defining factor for social class is education especially since education is seen as an achievement toward the American Dream. (Lareau, 235). Younger generations seem to place more emphasis on achieving higher education and the occupational opportunities provided for those who are well-educated (Cherlin, 113). The socioeconomic stratification corresponds to those with differing levels of education such as upper/middle class individuals have a college education while working/lower class have some college and/or minimal high school education (Cherlin, 118-119). These individuals and their given circumstances based on education and income have different values and trends about marriage, family and socialization/rearing of children. (Cherlin, 114-117). Family inequality is then based on direct obtainment for individuals who are head of these households such as employment of fathers and mothers (Cherlin, 111), which in turn affects the childhood/family experience of child within the socioeconomic status of their parents. (Lareau,

Hidden curriculum” refers to unwritten or unspoken rules, expectations, idioms, and metaphors that everyone knows, but are not directly taught. Often, students that lack understanding or knowledge of the unwritten social rules are prone to be bullied, ignored, or misunderstood. Students with learning disabilities struggle with observational skills necessary to understand and interpret these unwritten and unspoken rules. Some of these struggles can be seen in tardiness, use of the cafeteria, location of classes, use of lockers, and much more. Students with learning disabilities can be seen as unmotivated, uninterested, or lazy due to misunderstanding of the unspoken and unwritten rules. Often, students with learning disabilities may misinterpret