The Hidden School: The Use of Poetry and Photography as Tools to Investigate the Hidden School

Can poetry and photography reveal the hidden curriculum and in doing so support students development as independent learners?

The hidden school is experienced and embodied by staff and students through the hidden curriculum, defined by Sambell and McDowell (1998) as that which is ‘implicit and embedded in educational experiences in contrast with the formal statements about curricula and surface features of educational interaction’. Kohlberg and Meyer (1972) regard the behavior of the teacher as complicit in the production of hidden curriculum, positing that ‘the hidden curriculum arises when an educator splits his/her own life from the act of teaching.’ The ‘habitual curriculum’ is arguably a more appropriate term as Gair and Mullins (2001) note that ‘the hidden curriculum is not actually hidden, but merely constituted by all those things that are so taken for granted that they are rarely given any attention.’ Illich (1971) takes a more sinister view that the ‘hidden’ elements within curricula mask societies subversion of real learning, in a covert enactment of hegemonic ideology and power. Regardless of whether the hidden curriculum is the product of intent or otherwise, Apple (1979) declares that in the pursuit of a reflective and critical pedagogy the ‘hidden political and ideological agendas…must be uncovered if they are to be critically addressed.’ The contingent question arises; Can the poetry and photography be used as tools to uncover the hidden curriculum for critical analysis?

Szto, Furman and Langer (2005) make a robust case for the epistemological and applied research possibilities of poetry and photography, citing the extensive use of both media in social research (Furman, Chan, Richardson, Hine). Szto highlights the social impact of the photograph as a catalyst for social change, simultaneously projecting the authenticity of ‘being there’ and as a ‘method of capturing the complex social phenomena.’ Furman argues for the potential of the poem that ‘allow(s) for (an) holistic understanding that transcends quantitative data, noting the ‘congruity’ of poetry with the many ways people experience the world, echoing Hirschfield’s view that ‘poetry is the clarification and magnification of being, through words’. Both Szto and Furman posit ‘the arts…as a valuable means for communicating complex social phenomena for which statistical means for representation is limiting’ citing the work of (Finley and Knowles (1995).

This research uses poetry and photography as tools to investigate the ‘hidden curriculum’, using an auto-ethnographical approach (in their own ‘words’) to explore the social processes and inter-personal relationships within the learning and teaching environment, offering insights to student experiences of the ‘curriculum-in-action’. As the primary learning and teaching space within architectural education, the studio as both place and process provides the locus for the research investigations. Using the lens of reflective practice (Schon (2016) the research enables students to bring into focus the multitude of phenomena informing their learning on a daily basis, and by raising their awareness, offer greater agency in the construction of their individual learning. As key actors in the studio environment studio staff benefit from the research by gaining insight to the experiences and perceptions of their students, giving them the opportunity to reflect on their approach to learning and teaching. The research presentation will offer qualitative thematic analysis of the autoethnographic outputs (poems and photographs) produced during student workshops, supported by quantitative analysis of the participating student characteristics.