A Model of the Hidden Curriculum in Mathematics Education Based on a Socio-cultural Approach

Niroo, Mohammad

doi:10.22034/jcs.2025.471290.2317

A Model of the Hidden Curriculum in Mathematics Education Based on a Socio-cultural Approach

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Mohammad Niroo

مدیر گروه

10.22034/jcs.2025.471290.2317

Abstract

In the heart of the complexities of the educational process, the hidden curriculum acts as an underlying current, continuously influencing the formation of minds and spirits. This research aimed to explore the hidden layers of mathematics education utilizing qualitative methods, and observed and analyzed classroom interactions while identifying the influential components of the hidden curriculum based on Vygotsky's socio-cultural approach. The study was conducted over three academic years in three private boys' high schools in Tehran, adopting a qualitative paradigm and a grounded theory approach. The research data were collected and analyzed using various tools such as observations, in-depth and semi-structured interviews, and educational documents. The findings indicated that the pattern of the hidden curriculum in mathematics education, based on the socio-cultural approach, could be formulated in three key layers: context—comprising "learning environment, educational content, educational and disciplinary rules, and conventional teaching methods"; process—consisting of "asymmetrical collective and individual interactions and symmetrical interactions"; and outcome—encompassing "changes in attitudes towards mathematics, expansion of learning, and individual and collective effects of group learning."

Keywords

Hidden curriculum

Socio-cultural approach

Mathematics education

Vygotsky

Model development

Subjects

Math education

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