Social Class and the Vocational Educational Tracks Hidden in School Curriculum

Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work by Jean Anyon

What:
In this article (p.1) Ms. Anyon quotes the argument from Basil Bernstein, Pierre Bourdieu, and Michael W. Apple that "knowledge and skills leading to social power and regard (medical, legal, managerial) are made available to the advantaged social groups but are withheld from the working classes to whom a more 'practical' curriculum is offered (manual skills, clerical knowledge)."

Ms. Anyon presents research in this article to support the argument above. She demonstrates that classroom education differs in quality and purpose according to the social and economic classes of the student body. Ms. Anyon reports evidence from 5 schools to illustrate this variance in quality and intent of instruction. She examines two working class schools, one middle-class school, one affluent professional school and one executive elite school.

Ms. Anyon reports:
In working class schools, work is following the steps of a procedure (p.3)
In the middle-class school, work is getting the right answer (p.5)
In the affluent professional school, work is creative activity carried out independently (p.7)
and in the executive elite school, work is developing one's analytical intellectual powers.

Ms. Anyon's research indicates a significant variance in educational approach among 5th graders within the same state but communities that also vary significantly in their social and economic classes.

So What:

On page 11, Ms. Anyon says "School experience, in the sample of schools discussed here, differed qualitatively by social class. These differences may not only contribute to the development in the children in each social class of certain types of economically significant relationships and not others but would thereby help to reproduce this system of relations in society."

If our educational systems broadly reflect the societal class profiling and educational practices evident in Ms. Anyon's study then most students in American society will have a tendency to remain in their current socioeconomic class. The educational system will obstruct their efforts and limit student potential to achieve success.

If we continue to educate differently according to social class (providing greater knowledge and skills of power in proportion to their increasing identity with the culture of power), then we can expect a continuous cycle of poverty and oppression that will entrap many Americans within a particular socioeconomic class or group. Ethnic minority students and others who are not part of the culture of power will have their opportunities to improve their quality of life severely limited. This discrimination and injustice against people of minority races and the working class continue to prolong the cycle of limited opportunity and segregation here in America. When will this injustice and poverty end?

Now what:

Ms. Anyon calls for "further research...in a large number of schools to investigate the types of work tasks and interactions in each to see if they differ in the ways discussed here and to see if similar potential relationships are uncovered." She is seeking more research to determine if her initial findings are generally reflected within American schools. If these findings are consistent with most schools or even a significant number of schools then the educational system should be changed to give minority students and other working class students access to the codes and rules of the culture of power. As a result, there will be increased opportunity for students to break the cycle of oppression evident in American society.

It is disturbing to see educational paradigms established that are designed to limit the opportunities of students and direct them into a particular vocation. It is especially disconcerting to hear some of the attitude expressed by some teachers in the working class schools that Ms. Anyon talks about. For example, "No, you don't; you don't even know what I'm making yet. Do it this way or it's wrong." and "Simple punctuation is all they'll ever use."

I feel frustrated by the Occurrence of these attitudes in education. If one doesn't believe in his/her students and their potential than why serve as an educator? We need to strive to encourage and equip our students to take advantage of the opportunities they receive. The implications of Ms. Anyon's studies confirm what Lisa Delpit, says in her article Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. Delpit says that: "If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier." All of our students have the potential to learn and grow. As a future educator, I want marginalized students to have the opportunity to develop their creativity and achieve success in society.