Hidden curriculum, ideology and space

Gregor Bida

Summary:  The article first considers the notion of the hidden curriculum and its place in the theory of ideology. We begin by situating the hidden curriculum in the framework of the relationship between school and ideology. We proceed with different interpretations of the notion of ideology and with the question of how to understand the hidden curriculum in this context. The basic methods used are Althusserian symptomatic reading and the analysis of ideology as material practice. Based on a contemporary critique of ideology, hidden curriculum is described as a practice embodying fantasy that covers up social antagonism. We conclude with interpretations of space and architecture in this framework and propose that both the concept of the hidden curriculum and the school space are open to interpretations that can be either emancipatory or ideological.