Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Fall 2007 Postmodern View of the Hidden Curriculum Linda W. Dickerson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Recommended Citation Dickerson, Linda W., "Postmodern View of the Hidden Curriculum" (2007). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 455. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/455 This dissertation (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 A POSTMODERN VIEW OF THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM by LINDA DICKERSON (UNDER THE DIRECTION OF WILLIAM REYNOLDS) ABSTRACT This dissertation will address the hidden curriculum and the impact that it has on the contemporary classroom. In the twentieth century, America is facing a variety of crises, one being the state of the national educational system, and part of this crisis is the public image that the educational system presents to the public eye through the hidden curriculum. Every institution has a public image or the side of it which first meets the eye, but often these images are deceptive. Schools present a public image in that schools teach much more than they claim to teach and they complete this task through rules, curriculum, and responses to all events and situations. The hidden curriculum actually functions in the open through the practices of the school, and is only hidden in the fact that these practices go unacknowledged by teachers, administrators, parents and students. My research goal is to expose the hidden curriculum in my classroom and in the school where I teach in order to improve my teaching style and facilitate school improvement. INDEX WORDS: HIDDEN CURRICULUM, PUBLIC IMAGE, DECEPTIVE 2 A POSTMODERN VIEW OF THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM by LINDA DICKERSON B.S., Armstrong University, 1986 M.Ed., Georgia Southern University, 1988 A dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF ECUCATION STATESBORO, GEORGIA 2007 3 © 2007 Linda Dickerson All Rights Reserved 4 A POSTMODERN VIEW OF THE HIDDEN CURRICULM by LINDA DICKERSON Major Professor: William Reynolds Committee: John Weaver Julie Maudlin Beverly Brown Electronic Version Approved: December, 2007 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This educational journey has been a long eventful one for me. It has been a quest that I would not be completing without the help and guidance of compassionate, caring family and instructors. I would like to thank each of them for their support, time, patience, and humor as I struggled with the demands of school, work and family. I would like to thank Dr. Reynolds, Dr Weaver, and Dr. Morris for influencing me and providing me with the motivation to continue my formal education. Dr. Brown has always been an encouragement in any endeavor. Each of you have been supportive throughout the doctoral program as advisors, teachers, and friends. I would like to thank Dr. Maudlin for stepping in and serving as my committee member. I participated in a great cohort group and gained an experience of a lifetime. I met many wonderful people who will continue to be a part of my life even when classes are over. Sincere gratitude goes to my husband and family for all the patience and space that they have provided me as I made this journey. They have been called upon to make sacrifices because many times I could not join in family activities because of pressing school work. My husband has supported me in every endeavor and without his love and compassion I would not be where I am today. I would also like to thank my extended family who has supported me unanimously. I am thankful for a praying mother who has spent many hours praying for me as I struggled with the demands of school. I would also like to thank my colleagues who have helped in my study and have also offered moral support throughout the entire process. Each and every person mentioned has been a blessing in helping me to be successful in this endeavor. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 1 DISSERTATION INTRODUCTION AND FOCUS .........................................11 Key Terms, Hidden Curriculum, Postmodern, School Culture & Climate. 12 Hidden Curriculum……………………………………………………12 Postmodern............................................................................................16 School Culture and Climate..................................................................19 Statement of the Problem .................................................................. ...21 Research Site.........................................................................................23 Theoretical Framework........................................................................ 25 Research Goals .................................................................................... 26 Background of the Study....................................................................... 26 Purpose of the Study............................................................................. 30 Limitations and Delimitations of the Study..........................................31 Significance of the Study ......................................................................32 Odysseus: a Metaphor for Education and the Hidden Curriculum............33 Personal Reflection................................................................................36 Summary of Chapter One ..........................................................................38 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ..................................................................40 Functionalist, Liberal and Critical Perspective....................................... 41 Functionalist Perspective.......................................................................41 7 Liberal Perspective................................................................................42 Critical Perspective................................................................................43 Theorist Who Have Studied the Hidden Curriculum....................................46 Talcott Parsons (Functionalist Perspective) ..........................................46 Phillip Jackson (Liberal Perspective)....................................................47 Robert Dreeben (Functionalist Perspective)..........................................50 Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis (Functionalist Perspective) ...........50 Michael Apple (Critical Perspective)....................................................51 Elizabeth Vallance (Liberal perspective) ..............................................54 Issues That Relate to the Hidden Curriculum..............................................55 Political and Societal Power over Curriculum ......................................55 Political Power and the Hidden Curriculum..........................................56 Societal Power and the Hidden Curriculum..........................................61 Power, Censorship and the Hidden Curriculum…............................... 65 Imperializing Power and the Hidden Curriculum .................................67 Localizing Power and the Hidden Curriculum......................................68 Resistance to Change and the Hidden Curriculum................................69 Seven Lessons that Schools Teach........................................................70 Indifference Taught by the Hidden Curriculum....................................73 Emotional Dependence and the Hidden Curriculum.............................74 The Hidden Curriculum and Current Issues in Education ........................ 76 Diversity and the Hidden Curriculum ...................................................76 Technology and the Hidden Curriculum...............................................85 8 Testing and the Hidden Curriculum ......................................................93 Curriculum Issues and Testing..............................................................96 Student Motivation and Testing ..........................................................102 Teacher Behaviors and Testing .....................................................…. 107 Popular Culture and the Hidden Curriculum.......................................112 Mass Media and the Hidden Curriculum ............................................119 Dress and the Hidden Curriculum.......................................................126 Music and the Hidden Curriculum ......................................................128 Stereotypes and the Hidden Curriculum .............................................130 Summary of Chapter Two .........................................................................132 3: METHODOLOGY .........................................................................................133 Introduction ...............................................................................................133 Defining Action Research .........................................................................133 Timeline of Action Research.....................................................................135