9699 · 5.3
Influences on the curriculum flashcards
Revision flashcards for Cambridge 9699 Influences on the curriculum (syllabus 5.3). Flip, recall, then mark a real past-paper question.
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Formal curriculum?
Official planned subjects, timetables, exam specifications.
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Hidden curriculum?
Implicit messages — authority, competition, conformity (Bowles & Gintis).
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Apple — curriculum control?
Dominant groups define 'legitimate knowledge' to maintain power.
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Young — academic vs vocational?
Knowledge hierarchies favour middle-class culture.
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Ethnocentric curriculum?
Content centred on white British/European history and culture.
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Gendered curriculum?
Subjects stereotyped — STEM male, care subjects female.
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What is the 'formal curriculum'?
The official, timetabled subjects and content that are deliberately taught in schools, often determined by the government, for example, through a National Curriculum.
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Define the 'hidden curriculum' and provide two examples.
The informal and unofficial lessons, values, and norms that pupils learn through the structure and organisation of school life. Examples include learning to accept hierarchy and the importance of punctuality.
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What is an 'ethnocentric curriculum'?
A curriculum that reflects the culture of the dominant ethnic group while ignoring or devaluing the cultures of other minority groups. Bernard Coard is a key theorist.
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According to Bowles and Gintis, what is the 'correspondence principle'?
The Marxist idea that the structures and social relationships in schools (e.g., hierarchy, lack of control) directly mirror or 'correspond' to those found in the capitalist workplace, preparing pupils for their future exploitation.
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How do feminists like Heaton and Lawson criticise the formal curriculum?
They argue it is a 'woman-less' curriculum, where the contributions and achievements of women are largely ignored in subjects like history and science, reinforcing patriarchy and limiting girls' aspirations.