Facts of the hidden curriculum at schools

The hidden curriculum

The hidden curriculum is a side-effect of the formal curriculum and is sometimes called the “unofficial curriculum”. In school learners may learn unintended values, beliefs, behaviours and norms in the classroom and the social learning environment (Gordon, Bridglall & Meroe, 2005; Kentli, 2009). What they learn can include lessons on how to interact in conversations with others; behave; debate and discuss their points of views; use power and authority and compete. These lessons can be either negative or positive in terms of encouraging literate and well-equipped citizens.

You get three types of hidden curriculums namely: Hidden micro-curriculum, Hidden meso-curriculum and Hidden macro- curriculum. Below I’ve explain the definitions of the micro-curriculum and Chalufu definition of the three hidden curriculums:

The hidden micro-curriculum is the relationship between teacher and learners:

In the class learners learn from the hidden curriculum to:

Wait quietly for the teacher to start with the lesson; Exercise restraint; Complete an activity; Keep busy; Cooperate; Show loyalty to both teaches and peers, and

be near and punctual (Jackson, 1968) This hidden curriculum can either be negative or positive

Chalufu ( 1996: 96 -97) identifies three categories of the hidden curriculum:

The hidden micro-curriculum which manifests itself in each lesson mostly through the relationships and interactions of the teacher and each pupil as well as interaction between pupils themselves. 

• The hidden meso-curriculum which refers to experiences which pupils and teachers undergo within a particular school and its immediate environment but outside individual lessons.

The most common meso-realities which affect the teaching-learning dynamics in a school are:

• the teachers' personalities and relationships with another;

• the pupils' personalities and relationships across class barriers; the influence of parents and community leaders; the nature of the surrounding communities; and extra-curricular activities

• The hidden macro-curriculum manifests itself at a national level through predominant national forces. The government is the major factor here as its economic control of the education system is to achieve certain political goals.

The implications that the hidden curriculum have on South Africa education system; concern raised and factors contribute to the concern

The curriculum is the guideline and should ask few key questions to identify the crisis facing the SA education system.  For instance,

1)    What type of curriculum is followed in a school?       2) To what extent does it address the needs of learners?             3) Does it matter which school a learner goes to?

Curriculum key questions are not only normative; they are analytical as well, covering a broad range of issues such as;

·         What is the nature of the school knowledge? What should be taught in schools? How should be taught? Why should it be taught? Who should be taught? Who should teach the learner? When and where should the learner be taught?

The above key questions form the dominant themes in the analysis of curriculum issues. 

Most schools in South Africa have been affected by the hidden macro-curriculum, reflected in:

Resources which are grossly inadequate. 

·         In 2013 schools from Limpopo registered their concerns regarding the shortage of textbooks were dumped in Giyani and in March 2014 the DBE was taken to court for failing to distribute books to schools in time. (The Star, 9 March).

·         The question remains, will it be possible for learners to pass their examinations with flying colours without textbooks?

·         In many secondary school classrooms, in rural areas of the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West provinces, some of the schools are still having roofs which leak; learners sit on the bare floor, to receive instruction from teachers who also have no furniture to sit on.

·         Dilapidated buildings with outdated laboratories and libraries. 20 years into democracy some of the school is, in our so called the New SA, especially in rural areas, are not in an immaculate condition. 

·         Seven schools in the Eastern Cape's poverty-stricken OR Tambo district, near Mthatha, took the national, provincial and local governments to court, over their failure to provide adequate resources, arguing their right to basic education has been violated. The instructional material readily available in some rural secondary schools is the chalkboard, and in many schools, the teachers themselves provide the chalk for classroom use. 

·         Vandalism and arson by students which results in destroying school buildings

·         Poor wages for teachers which result in low morale. 

·         Curriculum changes without timing; from Curriculum 2005, Outcomes-Based Education, National Curriculum Statement, and Revised National Curriculum Statement to Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS). All these curricula are implemented without an intensive training for teachers. Training was done in haphazard ways perhaps more vital, was the growing sensitivity towards how the school curriculum is organised and made to be responsive in the implementation process. 

Perhaps more vital, was the growing sensitivity towards how the school curriculum is organised and made to be responsive in the implementation process. 

Impact of the hidden-micro curriculum

The way that schools and teachers choose to educate students can convey both intentional and unintended messages. Research shows that SA education system have failed to that. The poor performance of South Africa Schools compared to those in both developed and developing countries has been established at primary level in mathematics and reading (Moloi and Strauss, 2005;Howie et al, 200) and at secondary level in mathematics and science (Howie, 2001; Reddy, 2006, see also Taylor et al, 2007) e of the most interesting cross national studies; was the research conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA),which gathered empirical data on educational achievement from 33 countries, including South Africa in the fields of Business, Mathematics and Science. Although most Grade 12 learners obtained a bachelor, of the 22 645 who sat for the NSCE in 2012, only 14.2% passed with flying colours. These students qualified to register for medicine, engineering and accounting fields. In 2013, only 16,4% made a credit pass which would enable them to register for the scare skills areas.