This paper introduces Living Scenes, and intergenerational programme of learning which has been in operation in selected schools in Ireland for the last thirteen years. An overview of the programme is followed by a description of the hidden curriculum and the transmission of arbitrary culture in an educational context. This is followed by an…

The aim of this field study was to investigate the hidden curriculum of school rules delimited to the moral construction of "the good pupil" embedded in the system of school rules in two primary schools. According to the findings, the rule system mediates a moral construction of the good pupil to the children, and this actually includes…

The breadth of material covered in introductory U.S. government and politics survey courses creates a situation in which the textbooks used may serve as the primary source of information students receive about the country's political system. At the same time, their content represents a conscious choice by the authors, editors, and publishers of…

Teachers sometimes shut students up for the sake of civility. My question is whether silencing for the sake of civility can be morally justified when a student derogates fellow students as members of some widely stigmatized group, and the offending speech is not for any further reason to be deplored, for example, as a personally targeted insult.…

Power and status are captivating, especially the desire for social status and its commensurate authority and security. Cliques, smaller clusters within larger peer groups sharing similar views, behaviors, and attitudes, are a means of attaining societal power. Because cliques are typically composed of the disenfranchised holding views different…

The literature on school commercialism, despite a number of successes in battling advertising and marketing in schools, has often seemed to only scratch the surface of corporatization of K-12 education. While condemning corporations who seek to sell brand-name products to kids in schools is a relatively straightforward matter, critiquing corporate…

Literature on the hidden curriculum suggests an essential meaning behind either "unintended consequences" or "latent functions" of formal curricula, but this claim is largely unfounded. Four major perspectives underpin studies in this area: functionalism, Marxism, humanitarianism, and existentialism. This paper demonstrates how…

Using the ideas of Paul Ricoeur and Clifford Geertz, this article develops the notion of education as a "text" and analyzes the "hidden curriculum" of that text as it is read by all members of the society. The hypothesis is proposed that education becomes a text about society's myths and sacred beliefs. (TE)

This monograph contains five papers concerning political education in Canada. Chapter 1, "Political Education and the Teaching of Politics," considers the historical and philosophical connections between education and politics. Chapter 2, "Civics, Citizenship and Politics: Political Education in the Schools," explores…

An analysis of 50 textbooks used in the elementary schools of the former Belgian Congo reveals an overt attempt to propagate colonial ideology. Fundamental themes included the legitimacy of the colonization, denigration of the indigenous culture, and establishment of colonial authority. Three books, however, resisted this indoctrination and one…

The distinctive focus of interpretive research on the meaning of curriculum is described, and the reconceptualization of the practice that interpretive studies provide is illustrated. The illustration includes the use of an interpretive lens to assess curriculum differentiation in lower-track high school classes. The interpretivist's interest in…

Major aspects of political education in Zimbabwe (Africa) as they have developed from the colonial period through the Chimurenga, or war of liberation, to the period following independence in 1980 are explored. The focus is on political themes such as power, inequality, community, and ideology. (RM)

This volume is part of a series of monographs from Australia devoted to outlining an alternative approach, based on neo-Marxist concepts, to educational administration. The introductory essay considers the way in which those making decisions about school curricula are influenced by their administrative and social context. The first part of the…

This paper, on the relationship between political socialization, the educational process, and what is taught in schools, is organized into three chapters, each of which is largely devoted to reviewing the literature of a particular area. Chapter 1 focuses on the process of political socialization in general and seeks to convey the variety of…

Articulates an approach to teaching sociology that creates connections between the personal and political lives of the students and the sociological concepts studied. Includes descriptions of class assignments designed to induce alienation and empowerment. Considers pedagogical alternatives to traditional instruction. (MJP)