The Hidden Curriculum

by M. D. Benson R. Snyder

In a penetrating analysis of student unrest, the Dean for Institute Relations at M.I.T (and former chief of the psychiatric services both there and at Wellesley College) isolates a major cause of campus conflict: the overwhelming, nonproductive mass of unstated academic and social norms that divert the student from creative intellectual effort and from the attempt to define and reach his goals as independently as he is able.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education

203 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting, pre-Bourdieuian sociological exploration of the how MIT students (of yore) played the academic game, and learned to survive in a pretty intense environment. It's dated (the student 'cases' described are all male, it doesn't really converse with current work in sociology of education, etc.) but at the same time it is surprisingly on point in it's description of how students navigate the academic world of MIT (but really, of most elite institutions) - how they uncover the hidden curriculum (what is actually expected, not just what is on the syllabus) - how they play the academic game.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish I read this while going through undergrad!
Admittedly, a little dated, but an easy-to-read introduction to the pset culture and underpinnings of much STEM education. The major thesis of a “hidden” curriculum overshadowing the formal curriculum resonates even stronger today, and still limits many potentially successful students.