Research Study on Education, curriculum

& pedagogy

Media And Contemporary Culture

Submitted By:
Maria Mohammed
Reg# 1657116

To:
Sir Taimur Suri
 Topic/ Hypothesis
How do education, pedagogy and curriculum perpetuates power
structures of the ruling elites (political, military and capitalists) in
Pakistan?
(Explained through lens of Critical Education Theory).

Abstract
Education establishes the framework for political, economic and social growth and

advancement of every nation. A suitable and practical system of education empowers

a country to accomplish its nationwide objectives. Pakistan being at its developing

stage ever since its initiation has been confronted with critical issues in the discipline

of education. And along these lines the education system has been unsuccessful in

conveying what the nation aspired to achieve. There are multiple elements, which are

to be held responsible for the current circumstances. Therefore, the study investigates

a portion of critical issues that have tormented Pakistan’s education system so far in

the light of in the light of critical education theory, and further assesses the

curriculum, pedagogical practices and hidden curriculum of Pakistan critically

through the concepts and theories set forth by critical education theorists such as

Michael Young on education and social control; Sam Bowles and Herb Gintis

correspondence theory of education; work of Paulo Freire, Peter McLaren in critical

pedagogy to name a few. Hence, the paper aims to provide substantial data and

reasoning on the phenomena that how do education and it’s designed curriculum

serves the interests of few ruling elites, using education to exert social control, and to

provide the capitalists with submissive workforce to mention the least.

Keywords: Critical Education theory, teaching practices, education system, critical

pedagogy, curriculum, teaching practices, politics, power, legitimation
INTRODUCTION

The association amongst human security and education when characterized in an

expansive sense – is direct and prompt. Education is of crucial significance to an

individual and to a nation as a whole since it is a path to both individual and national

growth. People on the premise of education, understand their obligations as well as

know how to accomplish their individual, societal and national rights.

And how do we realize that how important education is? Well, there are only two

categories of groups of countries that have turned out to be successful. The first

category includes all those countries that have been lucky enough to possess precious

and expensive natural resources. Second category, composes of all those nations who

have cultured and educated their people into a state of well-being and success. But

well these success stories of being educated holds true for only those nations who

don’t have their education system set on ideologies or are manipulated to only serve

the interests of the ruling elites for example, Finland, Poland, Japan etc. whose

education system is more skill-based and most innovative in all aspects, and who let

their students decide on their curriculum and textbooks unlike Pakistan where we

have nothing but different political reforms setting our education ideology and

curriculum accordingly to serve their needs rather than educating us into a prosperous

version of ourselves and nation both.

So what is Education essentially? Let us dig a bit deeper into it. The standard

education system basically daunts us to be honest to the higher authorities or

whatsoever, in fact it teaches us not to do so. There are numerous things that we learn

from the day we are born such as learning to cry, learning to sit, crawl etc. We are

blessed with this capability of learning things through our inherent ability of

simulating and imitating people and their behaviors, only till we reach our age of
schooling. This innate rule instantly changes there. We are no longer allowed to learn

things through our inborn ability or liking, instead we are just directly pushed into this

unimaginable cosmos where we are supposed to act or do as the “teacher” decrees-

who employs complete power. Earlier we are allowed to have some freedom, but as

we go further, the tenets turn out to be more inflexible, with power of the educator

more supreme, hence, punishments more harsh. This entire system and the way it’s

demonstrated is so unnerving for a child that they try not to breathe a word about their

encounters to their parents as they are apprehensive that they too would comply with

the instructor’s will. This schooling process, as we move forth, only makes us more

submissive, less curious, and more controlled- in short, less of critical thinkers; to

never address or challenge that system of authority whereupon we’ve been

transformed into this “composed native,” whose ready to take its place in the society

while acknowledging its dogmas and rules. This is precisely what defines

‘Education’. But in all actuality, it is an arrangement of forced social, political and

economic control whose core purpose is to maintain and preserve the power structures

which a very few influential people have access to. So this is where Critical Education

theory comes into play as it which investigates and challenges that how education

works in assistance of this framework.

Critical Education Theory is derived as a branch of a broader theory i.e. Critical

Theory, applied to the field of Education. Critical theory can be characterized as an

introduction, an aura, and a method for following up on the world with the ultimate

end goal to change it for good. Critical Theory, most importantly is a kind of social

analysis that is not set up to acknowledge things at face-esteem or as they are

introduced, which are just a by product of the dominant class’ self-created reality.

Hence, critical education theory being its very branch, also examines the history,
method of education and its practices critically. It explains that contemporary

education in western world is based on the ideologies shaped and put forward by the

power forces that revert from capitalism, whose core objective is to shape such

conditions in which the people who are inherently dominant benefit, by creating an

environment in which education serves the political, social, cultural and economic

interests of the ruling elites, such that members of its community can’t challenge or

question the status quo, and be submissive towards the mandates given by the

Authority. Michael young- a critical education theorist proposes that the function of

education perceived in the society hasn’t been steady. At various circumstances, the

purpose of education has been seen in an unexpected way.

Critical Education and its further branches in brief according to

Critical Education theorists:
Critical Education- It includes the use of critical theory to educational theorizing. It

examines the constitution of the subject matters taught and the path in which it is

educated, hence, both being viewed as an instrument of social control. It further

incorporates 3 branches, which are:

Critical Pedagogy: It surfaced as the consequence of the educational changes pushed

by Frankfurt school in Germany. A critical theorist Marxist inspired this approach. It

is the critical investigation of the methods and teaching practices in classroom,

illustrating how they are formed and modeled, as a result reproducing existing power

structures (race, social status, gender and so on).

Hidden Curriculum- School is one of the most important places where kids are

taught to comply with social values and their implications. And the school’s capacity

to incite passivity and compliance in their students isn’t much originated from the

content of curriculum, but rather from what is named as “hidden curriculum”- i.e.
informal administrations of teaching, scheduling and social order frameworks such as

the seating arrangement- facing towards the teacher (supreme authority), scheduled

breaks, ban on specific types of speech etc., consequently creating an affirmation of

external power as opposed to individual supremacy.

Curriculum Studies- this refers to legitimation of approved text i.e. what could be

taught and who has the authority to permit that which specific type of learning is

selected among all others. The power to legitimize something is the most powerful of

all powers that prevails as it forms the majority of our perspectives and convictions

about the way of the world. In the naming of legitimate forms of education,

universities have a significant role; they are essential tools in confirming that the

ideologies and principles of the dominant class stay in power.

Pakistan's educational Ideology:

The establishing fathers of Pakistan visualized its education system and their

imagination was the main thrust behind every single national objective. However,

according to Iqbal, Pakistan’s education system was not based on homogenous rules

and values. Firstly, because of the uncertainty that the new conceived country was

confronting and secondly, because of the stress laid on the two-nation theory for the

basis of identity of Pakistan.

Changes and reforms in education system of Pakistan over the

decades:

Implicitly, the idea of providing education has changed around the decade, which

previously acted as a social service in the pre-1958 period. According to article 26,

primary education is to be free and compulsory for all nationals and pakistan

committed to it. In spite of this, the provision of the constitution wasn't attained.
However, it became a developmental and a fundamental right during Ayub Khan's

rule and the Bhutto regime from 1972-1977 respectively and with Bhutto's idea of

socialism all foundations of the country became nationalized, however it became

inconvenient to manage due to a rapid increase in public sector schools, providing

that the nationalism policy was incompetent to reach its aim. After ages of demands

for Islam to form the education system, this intimation fell completely under the

autocracy of General Zia-ul-Haq (1977) after which education exemplified as a means

of indoctrination. During his sovereignty the NGO’s (non governmental organization)

were encouraged and sanctioned to seize those public school structures that were not

in use due to insufficient government funding, hence leading to increase in number of

private sectors to 36000. Although these two sectors were catered, still noticeable

inconsistencies remained especially in the rural areas where madrassas (religious

school) affirmed a promoter of literacy, where the main focus was Islamic education.

This madrassa education varies from province to province, where no

curriculum proposed by the ministry of education is followed. Alexander Evans

briefly explained why children are sent to madrassa. Firstly this may be the only

option to avail literacy for young village kids and secondly, for the mere interest of

receiving Islamic education.

Public schools:

Public schools are run by the government and are free of cost for all Pakistani

citizens. Additionally, there is one private Agha khan board, operated by the

university of Aga Khan.

Private schools:

Generally, private schools are considered to be the source of high standard teaching,

expensive private and Christian missionary schools follows the curriculum of an

internationally recognized curriculum designed for schools like Cambridge O and A

levels.

It can be concluded that the education system of Pakistan is divided into public,

private and madrassa whereby the public sector is Urdu medium focusing on people

from the middle class. On the contrary, private sector is English medium and attends

for the elites and upper classes and lastly, madrassa serves the under privileged

bestowing them with free education, food etc. Indicating that the division of the

education system is done on the basis of socio-economic status of people.

We will be taking Pakistan’s public and private schooling education curriculum and

pedagogy of as an example to explain the critical education theory vividly and how it

holds true for the notion that education, pedagogy and curriculum perpetuates the

power structures of the ruling elites as stressed by the critical education theorists.

Theoretical Framework/ Research Methods:

Theory is an indispensable element of any research. It attempts to comprehend the

world, as it appears to be, by creating an order of the relationships between the

components that are center of attention to the theorists (Dubin, 1978). A theoretical

outline would assist and give a focal point, through which the information/data or

literature would be seen, examined and explained. Hence, it could be said that theory

and research are both interconnected.

For this research study, I have used critical education theory to examine the different

components that come under it in order to study the literature regarding the systems of
education in Pakistan. Critical Education is a branch of Cultural studies which, is

basically a way to deal with examining the society and its culture that is situated at the

convergence amongst the sociology and the sciences of humanities, particularly

literature.

British/West Indian Professor Stuart Hall and a group of Critical Theorists established

the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. A group of critical theorists and

specially a British professor- Stuart hall constituted the Centre for Contemporary

Cultural Studies. It aimed at to analyze all the agencies and tools that developed or

produced culture. The instruments that induced cultural production were- The Media,

The Schools (Education), The Legal systems (Politics), Religious Places (The Church

etc.) and The Law (Parliamentary system)

They work together to recreate the relations of power in society by reproducing the

values, opinions and ideas of the members of the dominant culture. This actually laid

the foundation for the critical Media, education, politics studies and the liberation

theology.

So, to explore the hypothesis of this study, Critical Education Theory has been used to

analyze and explain that “How do education, pedagogy and curriculum perpetuates

social, cultural, economic and political supremacy?” The Critical theory is applied

to Education to critically examine the constitution of the subject matters taught and
the path, in which it is educated, hence, both being viewed as an instrument of social

control. It further incorporates 3 branches, which are: Critical Pedagogy, Hidden

Curriculum, and Curriculum Studies.

I have reviewed 17 research reports based on Educational Curriculum of Pakistan,

critical education theory of State, the people and resistance, critical pedagogy,

Educational practices and reforms in Pakistan, decentralization in education and so

on. Since each critical theorist haven’t worked on all of the three branches of critical

education theory, I have used the work of major critical education theorist who have

provided great insights in each branch i.e. curriculum studies, critical pedagogy and

hidden curriculum separately and collectively, both. The work of Michael Apple,

Henry Giroux, and Michael Young has been used to critically analyze the education

curriculum of Pakistan. Work of important and of recent era critical education

theorist, Paulo Freire who’s best known for his work “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”,

and is considered as major critical theorist in the critical pedagogy has been used to a

great extent and further the analysis of critical pedagogy concepts of theorists Chris

Watkins, Peter Mortimore, Basil Bernstein and Peter McLaren have also been studied.
Henry Giroux, Michael Apple, McLaren and Freire have analyzed the concept of

hidden curriculum in the light of new developments in educational philosophies.

Moreover, sociologists Sam Bowles and Herb Gintis explained the notion of hidden

curriculum, which later became distinctly known as their ‘correspondence theory of

education’. All these theorists’ work have been thoroughly examined to gain deeper

understanding of culture, its instruments to exert control and power and shape society

of Pakistan to serve the best of interests of the ruling aristocrats- the dominant

members of society.

Current State of Education System of Pakistan:

Pakistan's most important need, and its only biggest failure – is its heartbreaking

inability to educate its nation.

Pakistan is at its developmental stage with an untenable economy and an absence of

political stability. Apart from that, the country is exposed to increasing terrorism, and

social uncertainties, economic deterioration and political chaos. Hence, implying that

these issues are a mere appendage of a contradictory and a divided education system.

Pakistan lies geographically on a strategic location, due to which it has always

attracted the interest of two super powers. First were the British, and then the US, to

whom it provided manpower opposing to the previous Soviet Union. And this is

likely one reason that why Pakistan’s education system has a background marked by

obtaining educational methods and ideas from these nations i.e. the west.

The education system of Pakistan is not indifferent or foreign to these terminologies.

Curriculum:
The curriculum of different schools of Pakistan covers an extensive range of

disputable issues in the present era. The word “Curriculum” is of Latin origin, which

means, different way of achieving ones’ objectives (Maleki, 1384).

The critical theorists brought forth the idea that the published curriculum for the

different schooling systems is selected, and this selection procedure conducted

impartially or justly, but rather that it is vigorously one-sided towards the beliefs of

specific social gatherings. This process develops a pecking order of learning, the

system legitimates some part of it and the other part is delegitimized, similar to

Michael Apple's recommended order and structure of educational systems, which is

driven from the rule establishment of “knowledge scarcity.”

The greater part of this theorizing guided specifically toward the controversy of

curriculum: what ought to be instructed, what ought to be abandoned and essentially,

who had the power to choose and decide? Information or knowledge that is

incorporated in the curriculum is mentioned as legitimated. In any case, the power to

legitimatize is intrinsic in the whole educational framework, and is very discernible in

the part of curriculum. The subjects taught and the curriculum of the schools is in

reality the content records that legitimize the power of the governing constitutions. So

is the case the with education system of Pakistan and its curriculum.

Pakistan’s education framework is all influenced by internal and external factors. The

system has been made a captive to political obstructions externally, whereas, it’s been

contaminated by the manipulations of bureaucracy internally. Due to which the

Pakistan’s current curriculum of education isn’t able to meet the challenges and

demands of present era.

As discussed earlier about the multiple reforms in curriculum of Pakistan education

system varying from one political regime to another for example since the period of

General Zia-ul-Haq’s dictatorship, education has been serving as a method for

inculcation or brainwashing. Henry Giroux also refers the education in shools is

political in nature. Since his times in 1981 Pakistan studies was made a mandatory
subject for students of all disciplines be it professional degrees of medicine,

engineering or business. Hence, the present structure of curriculum practiced till date

in Pakistan was introduced amidst military rule of General Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s.

Pakistan studies include, history and geography, while history is always getting

altered as per different political regimes over the years, especially prominent in the

textbooks of Punjab, KPK curriculum, which are as volatile as our ruling parties could

be.

As naming and molding of history has been one of the main weapons utilized by the

State of exerting social control. Churchill said that, “Official History is always written

by the victors,” because who wins is always in the power, and they have all the access

to write it as their own version of reality- i.e. Their History. That’s why teaching of

history has been of significant importance in order to make and enforce a specific

view about the Pakistani Nation’s nature and existence. In Pakistan, composing of

history had been deliberately twisted and bended to encourage develop and promote

false philosophy and identity.

Consequently, the history that has been taught to kids has been self-created, warped,

precluded or even falsified to serve the political, ideological and capitalists’ interests.

For example our history that’s being taught to us is twisted to create an antagonistic

perception of India and Hindus in our minds. Always stressing on misrepresented fact

that Hindus have done atrocious killing of Muslims during the time of separation and

that we were not even given our right share of land etc. If we move a few decades

back in 1970s during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s regime- which was elected by the civilians

democratically, he introduced the text books in which the course glorified war and

military spirit and heroism. He presented a complete two-year course on

‘Fundamentals of War’ and ‘Defence of Pakistan’ for grades XI and XII

(intermediate) respectively. Since the military has governed Pakistan for almost 30

years of it’s existence ever, it tried to shape the history and introduce it to students in

a way that it would serve their interests such as purifying the military actions by

relating them to brave and heroic achievements of them in order to justify justify their

supreme power and existence in the state. Further more, producing pretty positive and

encouraging images of military in children’s mind by publishing textbooks such as

‘Personalities of Islam’, ‘Unforgettable events’ etc for matriculation and public

schools.

During the time of Nawaz Sharif regime, he made some improvements in the

curriculum, yet not very substantial- keeping the ruling party interests closely intact

i.e. manipulating generation’s mind; never letting the truth come to surface or let the

forcefully made submissive clan to be able to voice their opinions against the

powerful group.

Similarly, revisions were made in KPK, Punjab and Balouchistan textbooks during

regime of liberal Awami National Party, to serve their concerns with their ideologies

being practiced by the children. Following this, when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party-

the conservative one, came into power, they reversed many of the alterations made

probably due to halfway under weight from its alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, they

reintroduced the topic and acknowledgement of jihad, because it served their

extremist interests.

Hence, it seems that the ruling elites, which are allegedly the politicians, asserted

above educational alteration and reforms to accentuate their status quo and power.

And that history has been actually just fabricated and composed based on false

ideologies to lead the nation astray. All this contributed towards more ambiguities as

each generation further twisted the fabricated facts and forwarded them to the next
generation to come.

Other than History in the National curriculum, Islamic Studies had also been made a

compulsory course to be taken in Cambridge studies, matriculation and all boards,

regardless of their faith. Majority of the course readings communicate about five

pillars of Islam in the very first chapter, which is tricky in light of the fact that it

rejects non-Muslims from the identity of Pakistan, thus forcing them to study the

principles, values and traditions of religion Islam irrespective of their faith. Urdu and

English courses are also mandatory, no matter even if Urdu isn’t a student’s native

language. This all points towards one reason that is doing it for eliminating

differences among cultures and suppressing voice of minorities. And the curriculum

advertently overlooks the contributions and accomplishments of the religious

minorities that did reside in Pakistan such as Dorab Patel, Bapsi Sidhwa, Cecil

Choudhry and others who have been a source of pride for Pakistan.

Subsequently, Pakistan’s historical readings in this manner are foreordained and

invincible.

Pedagogy/ Teaching Methods:

The term Pedagogy, is a disputable terminology itself, however it includes practices

that bring about changes in the person- a learner. In the educational contexts of

present era the educational theorists Chris Watkins and Peter Mortimore, in their

book: Understanding Pedagogy and its Impact on Learning, explained pedagogy

as ‘any conscious activity by one person designed to enhance learning in another’

(1999, p.3). According to Basil

Bernstein, pedagogy ‘is a maintained procedure whereby a person procures new

structures or creates existing types of lead, information, criteria and practice from
someone or something considered to be a suitable evaluator and provider (Bernstein,

2000, p.78).

Pedagogy in simple words as defined in a dictionary means the method, practice or

principles of teaching.

The practice and method of teaching in Pakistan varies from institution to another.

Since the education system of Pakistan is based on different platforms such as public

schooling, privatization, and madrassas (that caters to a huge chunk of majority)

while, privatization is only available to a few elites (yet again the pedagogy of it

differs from school to school) and home schooling, the privilege of having equal

quality/ standard of education, skills that you learn in the process and opportunities is

not possible for all the students acquiring knowledge among various schooling

systems. The literature for critical study of pedagogy available is so vast, therefore

this study does not try to delineate entire region of it. Instead focus on the

fundamentals of it with Pakistan’s teaching practices as an example to implicate the

concepts of critical educational theorists work that have been mentioned in the study

such as Watkins, Mortimore, McLaren and Bernstein.

Bernstein has contrasted two models of pedagogy that concentrate on an educator's

association, administration, reaction and discourse to the students, which, give a

valuable theoretical framework with which to comprehend various pedagogic

approaches:

Performance model: visible pedagogies where the teacher explicitly spells out to the

students what and how they are to learn, with a recognizable strong framing or lesson

structure, collective ways of behaving and standardized outcomes;

Competence model: invisible pedagogies with weaker framing that result in an

ostensibly more informal approach where the teacher responds to individual

children’s needs, with hidden or unfocused learning outcomes (Bernstein, 1990).

According to Peter McLaren (1993), critical pedagogy includes a mindset about,

arranging and changing the relationship amongst teachings in classroom, the

generation of learning, the institutional structures of the school, and the social and

material relations of the broader group, society, and country state.

Paulo Freire, who’s considered as a major critical theorist in critical pedagogy,

explained in one of his books: “The Education of the Oppressed” that imbalances

and discrimination in education has disregarded the privileges of less special

individuals of various communities and ended up in negating the fundamental human

rights in contemporary societies. Further more, critical pedagogy had also revealed

insight into the educational disparity and inquired the illusion of having equal

abilities, opportunities and learning of ideas as well as personal gains in education.

Pedagogy includes thoughts and ideas of teachers, their convictions, knowledge,

attitudes and comprehension about the curriculum practiced. The educating and

learning procedure, and their students, which have an affect in their teaching

practices, that is, what a teacher basically thinks, does and says in the classroom

(Alexander, 2001).

Teaching being a challenging job be it anywhere in the world requires a lot of teacher

assessment in order to let the deserving candidate have it. All around the globe, there

are certain criteria set for every level of education, be it elementary, secondary, high

school or bachelors and so on. They are highly qualified and equipped for the level

they are chosen to teach. Because a teachers academics background is liable to

perpetual consideration since that would determine gravely the quality of knowledge

they would communicate with the students, the way in which they will teach, their
understanding of curriculum, to what extent they would encourage creativity and

novel ideas from a student, their behavior with the students and their way of assessing

them and their test papers.

In Pakistan there aren't much quality training centers or opportunities for teachers.

Training aspect is very crucial to pedagogy, because it prepares and produces quality

instructors with much better understanding of teaching methods. There aren't any

appropriate training standards in the accessible or available training foundation in the

country. The courses that are being taught for teacher education training programs are

obsolete and customary which does not enhance the aptitudes, quality and motivation

of teachers. So, when the teachers themselves aren’t well trained and informed in this

profession, how will the pass on excellent form of knowledge in the best possible way

to meet the demands of the current techno-world. This scenario prevails for all types

of schooling, the public sector has its own qualms, so does the private, and madrassas

are on entirely different level of education and pedagogy precisely.

When teachers aren’t qualified enough and not given enough liberty to teach

according to the demands of modern society, much can’t be expected for developing

examination papers or practical or frameworks. The examination system which ought

to be founded on quantitative and subjective strategies to thoroughly assess pupils’

performances. The system of examination of Pakistan is not only outmoded, but isn't

competent enough to assess the thoroughly the performance of students. This kind of

examination method of Pakistan only attempts to test the memory and rote learning

power of students, rather than evaluating them on their concepts, deeper

understanding of the course outline, its implication etc. that is required to be educated

enough to compete at international level and forth. The teachers in our schooling
system mostly tend to read out a few pages of the course book as per each lecture,

merely rehashing the sentences stated in the book, and offering little and ordinary

explication of the topic, with vague or no further learning material.

In the same way there are several pedagogical issues in textbooks of various schools.

And there are enormous repercussions on pupils due to this. The core concepts, in

many books are vague, claims and arguments need rationale, clarifications are

missing, and the major stress is laid on rote learning topics and when it comes to the

power of the teacher, the textbooks and examination demands- blind deference is

given to all of it. All these are pretty strong deterrents to inquisitive and skeptical

minds that look for verity and deeper understanding through debate, legitimate

arguments and unbiased facts. Because of low payrolls, teachers are in constant

pursuit of achieving decent and sufficient standard of life. The people who we look up

to as our teachers, mentors etc. are indirectly compelled to take on unjustifiable means

in the examination or in matters pertaining to degrees and certifications etc. These

issues inevitably lead to corruption in educational practices. We have a feeble system

for check and balance and liability to be answerable to the authorities, this has lead to

encouragement of many criminal components to abuse funds, unjust use of power and

authority by lending needless favors in share of reserves, advancements and decision-

making power. Students who’ve been transformed through this kind of education

system and practices aren’t learn-ed in any respect. They are by products of rote

learning with very little knowledge of reality; critical thinking ability, low confidence

and a lot more which directly and indirectly benefits the capitalists and the governing

bodies because capitalists need work-force/employees who would work for them

without questioning the system and bias nature of social classification of groups; and

the governing bodies- the politicians need un-informed, submissive category of

people who wouldn’t ever have confidence enough to challenge them and buy into

whatever they make-believe them. This is all possible through weak education,

knowledge and methods, allowing a person to never be a competent, well informed,

thinking or a reasoning citizen.

HIDDEN CURRICULUM:
As Critical theory opposes the generally accepted meaning of education and says that

it's a mythology built on social construct, and that one of the primary purpose of

education is to develop conditions for exerting social control, low-waged labour and

submissive masses that can be effortlessly abused. Education is actually about the

inverse of freedom, if seen from this point of view. Its not the curriculum content only

that enables the schools to incite passivity and congruity in the student, but mostly

from what is known as 'hidden curriculum' - i.e. informal administrations of

teaching, scheduling and social order frameworks. Sociologists in France such as

Pierre Bourdieu and Jean-Claude Passeron, later Basil Bernstein in Britain made

major contributions in this area of critical study. Their theory proposed that school is

a tool of social propagation, which cannot be altered without changing the social

predominance of the upper class in the more extensive society, and this contributed to

help comprehend the ways and structures in which this social power was evident in

environment of education.

The explicit information material provided for learning is actually considered a way

of life, but what’s learned, is the internalized conformity with an arrangement of

implicit social codes and its alleged values. Consequently learning to be in a state of

dormancy against authority, regardless of what is ethically right.

We also learn subconsciously though the environment created to ‘not to this’, ‘not to

do that’ and huge list of dos and don’ts, which reveals that it’s a socially constructed
list of whats appropriate or not rather than what should be naturally permitted or not

at first place- we are in constant pressure to accept this as ‘truth’, consider ‘this’ as

normal or human nature to be precise.

The hidden curriculum concept has been a very strong and effective tool in critical

education theories. It helped in explaining the continuous collapse of the children of

working-class, the continual generation of biased social relations and the unceasing

supremacy of specific fragment of society and culture, even though often being larger

in number. The hidden curriculum has shed light on the behavior of students and

teachers in the classroom as well as on the field, hence it unveils the levels of

subconscious impact which affect behavior and experience of pupil to the core, not

just when they are in the classroom, but also in every day life.

McLaren- critical education theorist defines hidden curriculum in relation to informal

education as the insinuated teaching of patterns of behavior and beliefs. He

additionally includes that this hidden curriculum compels the pupils to acknowledge

the present power connections, ideology and established standards of the dominant for

the sake of good conduct.

These teaching practices according to Giroux are liable to understanding that how

they deliver and communicate various cliques of beliefs, cultural, norms, social

practices and meanings. Hence the hidden curriculum places schools, educational

institutes etc. at the service of ruling bodies (Politicians, capitalists). And it constitutes

an arrangement of values and standards that are in accordance with the predominant

class as it opposes all the conceivable challenges.

Sam Bowles and Herb Gintis also extended the analysis of hidden curriculum from

interactions between students and teachers in the classroom to the method and

practice of education in entirety and how its connected to the social dealings of
capitalist productions. This was later known as their correspondence theory of

education. They figured out that in spite of the fact that the entire education system in

general is suppose to support self-development and support the aspirations and needs

of individuals, truth be told, it worked as oppose to it to create exceptionally stratified

social relations not conforming to the forward-looking educational goal, but rather to

hierarchical capitalist economic network of wage and labour. As Michael Young puts

it:

"...In school, pupils learn deference to authority and an acceptance of

powerlessness because these will be the principal features of their future
employment. They also learn that those who succeed do so on the basis of
individual merit, not because of any advantage of social position."

Since the very beginning, Pakistan has staggering and obscure ideologies as the core

foundation of its education system due to being torn between two different ideologies,

one of two-nation theory and second of Islamization of education as a whole, it has

succeeded in creating a fallacious image of social reality through its education system

which is always under the influence of ruling bodies- the politicians, the capitalists,

the governing bodies. When public schools were introduced and privatization in

schooling system was done in Pakistan, it basically was done mainly under the

influence of the western culture and their method studies, such as making English as a

mode of achieving higher education. West is a dominant part of the world, thus,

influencing all the countries around the globe, be it in the part of education, or when it

comes to running the state, or acquiring deep rooted capitalism, or just following the

latest fashion trends and fads. All of these areas in Pakistan are also under their

dominance. Unfortunately, being in the hands of the most corrupt governors and

politicians, we are doomed to have such tragically ruined education system and
pedagogies. How the hidden curriculum practiced in Pakistan has affected, exploited

and shaped the very innocent and ingenuous individuals of our nation just to

accentuate consumerism, rivalry, and private proprietorship, and produce workers to

serve the capitalists industries to maintain the prevailing socio-economic conditions.

Below are the results of hidden curriculum that involves a specified set of rules and

regulations and subject matters that establish power relations and how are they

institutionalized among students of Pakistan.

ESTABLISHING PASSIVITY:
A child in Pakistan’s education system, in his initial years is made to learn not to

question authority and by the time of graduation they are shaped to become

acquiescent citizens and school plays a pivotal role in this. Here defiance towards

authority of teachers is useless making the child stay quiet and turn their heads away.

So to pin it down, this passivity is internalized inside of them due to which, they learn

not ever critically think about the organizations that work within the country to

allegedly safeguard civilians’ rights, but in reality they only safeguard inequity within

different communities and perpetuate power structures of ruling class.

CONSTRUCTING HIERARCHY:
In Pakistan, the key function of education is to create a sense of fear, which in turn

makes an individual obedient. All hierarchical social structures in our day-to-day life

have roots from this understood acceptance of authority. According to Critical

education theory, this leads to submissive employees for the job market of capitalist.

Hence, the only those in authority are made to benefitted from such a system.

CREATING CORROSIVE COMPETITION:

Almost Every school promotes healthy competition, but it could both ways- the

negative too. Students tend to thrive in competition. but if its about only one single

person surviving the competition, its not healthy anymore then, its corrosive then, as

it encourages a strong feeling of individualism and this detaches a human from its

social environment, hence vulnerable to manipulation. And that's what capitalist

production system wants, it relies on people carrying on as individuals instead of

being collective or united. There are many schools around the world like Canada,

Japan etc. that promote healthy attitude towards competition i.e. co-operation,

whereas in Pakistan they have been successful in encouraging corrosive competition

only.

WIDENED THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC GAP:

Widened the socio-economic gap by increasing privatization, as the more money a

parent possesses, the elitist schooling they could choose for their child, which is

reflective of the fact, that in Pakistan academic excellence has not much to do with

your ability to get admission in any educational institute. Consequently, privatization

has benefitted the economy, the ruling elites and favored a specific- supreme class of

society, whereas on other hand, have demotivated the working class, by unjust means

of securing a seat in the best of schools available, thus, not much seats left for the

very deserving ones- which are mostly the ones who apply on merit. Subsequently,

contributing as a threat towards social cohesion of our nation.

This research study concludes that education creates and transforms individuals in all

areas of life, for example, social, ethical, spiritual, political and monetary. But given

the present situation of multiple education systems operating Pakistan, its nearly

impossible for majority (if not all) to have equal quality, access and level of education

due to monopoly, decentralization and privatization. Future generation of Pakistan is

in a deplorable state when comes to skills such as critical thinking, analyzing,

research and innovation because its not about education here, its essentially about

serving the interests of the ruling bodies- politicians, capitalist, economists etc. The

teaching methods and hierarchical structures in education systems of Pakistan are

likely to form a specific kind of individual consciousness which somehow prepares

them to submissively accept the existing regulating structures and the beliefs and

ideologies of the dominant class and their role within it. Ergo, a perfect system of

education could only be achieved which is free of ideologies and influences of

cultural ethos of the predominant class as observed by Plato twenty-three hundred

years ago. The inevitable problems reflected in Pakistan’s education system would be

prevalent unless the ruling elites and politicians stop imposing their own form of

education, knowledge, curriculum and pedagogy upon the groups that aren’t in power.

Education can be dangerous. It is very difficult to make it not

dangerous. In fact, it is almost impossible. The only way you
can prevent education from being dangerous is to try and
develop an educational system in which the pupil is exposed to
no ideas whatsoever. [Robert Hutchins]
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