Learning to Work: The Hidden Curriculum of the Classroom

Schools appear to generate work‐related values and behavior patterns. We explored the relationship between specific kinds of teacher behavior and student beliefs about work and school. We suggested that the special function of schooling in socialization was preparation for the work world through a “hidden curriculum” stressing authority, time, work, achievement, and order. This curriculum was presented by means of teacher behavior; it expressed institutional rather than idiosyncratic teacher needs, and prevailed regardless of classroom environment and teacher style.