Jean Anyon’s article “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” distinguishes the unequal classroom structures in different social classes. Anyon’s research focuses on comparing five schools from different social classes. She classified the first two schools as a Working-Class School, the third as a Middle-Class School, the fourth as an Affluent Professional School, and the fifth as an Executive Elite School. According to Anyon, the parent’s social status will determine where the child will go to school. The Working-Class parents are considered to be below the poverty line and more common than not at least one parent does not have a job. Middle-Class parents have jobs such as accounting. The parents who send their children to Affluent Professional School have careers such as a lawyer. The Executive Elite School parents are top executives in their careers. Between the schools, there are some similarities but also some major differences.
As the social statues increased in the schools so did the amount of teaching materials. According to Anyon, in the Working-Class Schools the students work is focused on procedure. Students rarely make any choices within the classroom and in their school work. Anyon continues on explaining that teachers often do not explain to their students the point of their assignments. Students are asked to copy down notes to study them. Anyon explains that work is often marked incorrect when the assigned steps are not followed. She continues on to say that classrooms often do not contain a clock and teachers want complete control. They often maintain control by holding students past the bell. In the Middle-Class School, according to Anyon, the point of their work is to get correct answers. The students must follow the instructions in order to get good marks. In these schools’ students are given choices but their work does not involve creativity. Teachers focus on helping students understand their assignments. Anyon explains that in middle-class schools’ critical perspective is considered dangerous so students are not encouraged to as questions. Teachers still want to be in complete control but they respect the bell. Anyon explains that in Affluent Professional School students work is to be creative and independently done. Students are meant to be proud of what they have created. Teachers control over their classroom is based off of negotiations with their students. According to Anyon, In the Executive Elite School students work is meant to prepare them for life. Students are expected to use reason to solve problems. Teachers attempt to have control but they also expect students to be able to control themselves. The higher social status of a school will determine the type of education students will receive.
For my first assignment I plan to continue down the path of Jean Anyon’s research. I will go through this article several times and use it as my basis for my argument. Next, I will research other authors who discuss Anyon and her work to strengthen my argument. The articles will either support Anyon or they will explain why this study is irrelevant to now. I plan to get different outlooks on how social class affects student’s education. I will look for articles that explain whether Anyon’s research has been helpful to understanding the hidden curriculum or if her research is not accurate. The direction I plan to take may change to focusing on a different article by Anyon but I now have an idea where I want to go with my assignment.
Work Cited
Anyon, Jean. “SOCIAL CLASS AND THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM OF WORK.” Journal of Education (Boston, Mass.), vol. 162, no. 1, 1980, pp. 67–92.
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