Influences on the curriculum

The social construction of knowledge

Weber in 1922 argued that every society creates beliefs about what's important to learn. This
means knowledge is not just waiting to be found, taught, and learned. To understand this,
let's see how knowledge is shaped in schools. What should be taught, to whom, and why?
This involves looking at power and control in the school curriculum. We can explore this by
finding out how education systems were formed and what factors influenced what is taught
and how.

Factors influencing the content of the curriculum, including power, status, culture,
economic demands, and gender.

According to the Marxist perspective, schools in modern industrial societies serve as

institutions shaped by economic relationships. Louis Althusser emphasized the concept of
"cultural reproduction," which involves the ability of the ruling class to transmit its political
and economic dominance across generations. In this context, education functions as an
"ideological state apparatus" (ISA), playing a crucial role in social learning. Teachers are
agents of ideological control, who shape pupils' thinking about the world by trying to
get them to accept the realities of life and their likely future social positions.

Cultural institutions like education, media, and religion can control what pupils learn. What
we learn in school affects how we view the world in different ways:
● Through formal learning: children must learn the skills and knowledge needed in the
workplace.
● Access to knowledge is restricted through control of the curriculum. The higher an
individual goes in the education system, the greater their access to knowledge.

● Preparing children for the differing levels of knowledge in the workplace means
creating different levels of knowledge in the school. This is supported (reinforced)
through rigorous and periodic testing.

● Academic (theoretical) knowledge has more value than practical (vocational)

knowledge because it is more useful to the professional middle classes - those who
control both what is taught and how it is taught.

● Some forms of knowledge are more valid than others. In the curricula of many
countries English, mathematics and science have a special status.

● Children must learn to accept 'authority' because this is important in the workplace.

● Commodification: Knowledge is treated as a commodity that can be bought and sold.

This is achieved through educational qualifications, such as diplomas and degrees.
Educational qualifications are often required for jobs, even when they are not
necessary for performing the job tasks.
Theoretical knowledge is favoured over practical skills because it helps the middle class,
who control what's taught.

Young (1971) argued that educational knowledge always has an ideology. He said
formal education plays a role in reproducing social inequality. Schools are not simply
neutral institutions that provide all students with equal opportunities to learn. Instead,
schools are structured in a way that favours middle-class children.

This is done through several mechanisms, including:

Categorization of knowledge is the process of dividing knowledge into different categories,

or subjects. This is done to make knowledge more manageable. Thus teachers have control
over what students learn, when they learn it, and how they demonstrate their understanding.

Presented in particular ways through a formal Curriculum: Knowledge within

educational settings is typically organised and presented through a formal curriculum.
Knowledge is considered something that is already known and needs to be transmitted to
students, rather than something that students can discover for themselves. This curriculum
outlines the subjects and topics students will study during their academic journey. It is
guarded by gatekeepers, including teachers, examination boards, and politicians, and
learning is a gradual process of revelation. Teachers not only determine when to introduce
specific types of knowledge but also select which students will receive that knowledge.

Knowledge validation through exams is a process of assessing students' knowledge

and skills to ensure that they meet certain standards, but they can also lead to
credentialism, a situation in which knowledge is only considered valid if it can be
quantified in the form of qualifications. This can lead to the perception that certain
types of knowledge have greater validity than others, which can shape career
opportunities.

Young also argued that in capitalist societies, the school curriculum is shaped by the
interests of the ruling class in the following ways:

Selected. This involves decisions about which subjects appear on the curriculum and what's
taught in each subject.

Stratified (arranged) within the classroom, school, and society, this involves questioning
things such as:
● Why is theoretical knowledge considered superior to practical knowledge?
● The division between vocational and academic subjects.
● Why are not subjects combined?

Steiner schools, following Rudolf Steiner's educational philosophy, take a different approach:

● The curriculum matches a child's age and needs.

 ● Students are grouped by age rather than academic ability.
● Lessons are designed to engage learners individually.
● Subject material presented to a learner should be tailored to their individual
interests to make the learning process more engaging and effective.
● Learning focuses on practical, emotional, and thinking skills.

Functionalist perspective

Other factors influencing the content of the curriculum include the demands of the economy.
Functionalists think that schools should make the right number of trained workers that the
economy wants. Like, we need some doctors, engineers, and teachers. If the economy
wants different jobs, what students learn will change too. In the UK, they used to teach
something called "Information and Communications Technology" (ICT). Now, they teach
"Computer Studies," which focuses more on programming instead of just using computer
software like Microsoft Word.

Gender can also affect the curriculum in two ways. Some subjects are linked to males
(masculinity) and females (femininity), which can impact students' decisions on which
elective courses to take and their attitudes toward those subjects. Vocational courses, in
particular, tend to be strongly associated with one gender, leading to single-sex classrooms
or classrooms dominated by one gender in vocational subjects. Additionally, teachers tend to
deliver different content within a subject or teach it differently depending on whether they are
instructing boys, girls, or both.

Education and cultural reproduction, including the ethnocentric curriculum, the

gendered curriculum and the hidden curriculum

The ethnocentric curriculum

An ethnocentric curriculum is based on the values and perspectives of a single ethnic group,
often reflecting those of the majority ethnic group. It is not a curriculum that reflects the
diversity of a society that is relevant to all students. In a multicultural society. The content of
the curriculum may be based on the cultural norms, values, beliefs and history of a single
ethnic group to the exclusion of those of minority groups. This can make students from
minority backgrounds feel that the curriculum is irrelevant to their own experiences. For
instance, they might find that lessons don't incorporate their history or literature, or that their
cultural contributions are minimized in favour of the majority culture. Additionally, the formal
subject content, such as ideas about democracy or racial equality, may clash with the
"learned experiences" of minority students.

The gendered curriculum

For feminists, the way economies are structured sends messages to students about how
different occupations are gendered. This translates into gendered curriculum choices, with
girls often choosing subjects such as English, psychology, art and design, sociology, and
media studies, and boys often choosing subjects such as physics, business studies,
geography, and physical education.
Self and Zealey (2007) note that the gender differences in subject choice at the school level
translate into variations at the undergraduate level, with more women tending to study
subjects related to medicine, such as nursing, and more men opting for fields such as
business, administrative services, engineering, technology, and computer sciences.

The Equal Opportunities Commission (2007) in the UK argues that educational

achievements - girls consistently outperform boys at all levels of the UK education system -
do not necessarily help women into well-paid jobs. They suggest that one cause of this is
gender stereotyping, the idea that boys and girls have different educational and occupational
aptitudes. As Warrington and Younger (2000) note, male and female career aspirations often
reflect traditional gender stereotypes, such as childcare, nursing, hairdressing, and
secretarial work for girls, and computing, accountancy, and plumbing for boys.

One area where we often see gender stereotypes in the school curriculum is job training and
practical work experience. In the school curriculum, there's evidence that boys and girls are
often placed in jobs that fit traditional gender roles. Mackenzie's (1997) study discovered
that:

45% of girls were put in caring jobs, even if that's not what they wanted. Boys who didn't get
the job they wanted usually ended up in jobs they saw as either neutral or typically male. On
the other hand, girls who didn't get the job they wanted were usually placed in jobs that are
seen as traditionally female

In this case, job training is more likely to lead both men and women into jobs that are
typically associated with their gender. However, according to Kampmeier (2004), even
though vocational training has more chances for gender-based stereotypes and separation
due to focusing on specific job types, 'academic education' doesn't always ensure the
absence of these stereotypes and separation.

In Europe, the separation of jobs for men and women in the labour market has not changed
much in recent years. For example, jobs like electricians for men and nursery nurses for
women are still seen as typical. Therefore, it is argued that vocational education, which
teaches specific job skills, can make these gender and class divisions even stronger. This
happens because it often guides males and females toward certain jobs when they are
young, unlike academic education, which doesn't do that as much.

While women's opportunities have improved in the last 25 years, feminists argue that old
ideas about what it means to be a man or a woman still affect how families and workplaces
work in these areas:

1. Textbooks and gender stereotypes: Men are often shown more and doing active things,
not passive ones. For example, Best (1992) showed that books for young kids meant to help
them read still have sexist ideas and stereotypes in them.

2. Subject importance: Both teachers and students quickly realise that some subjects are
seen as more important than others. This happens in the formal subjects you study in
school, like English, math, and science, and in other areas that aren't part of the official
curriculum but still matter. The idea here is that these important rankings also show gender
differences, with more boys choosing high-status subjects.

Norman et al. (1988) argued that teacher expectations, especially in early-year schooling,
emphasise female roles related to the mother/carer. While females may no longer
automatically see their primary role as one of caring for their family, work roles continue to
be based on the idea of different male and female capabilities, both mental and physical.
This can result in gendered subject choices.

( To be continued)