Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T07:26:47.498Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Teaching the Hidden Curriculum in Political Science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 November 2021

Elena Barham
Affiliation:
Columbia University, USA
Colleen Wood
Affiliation:
Columbia University, USA

Abstract

The “hidden curriculum” in academia represents a set of informal norms and rules, expectations, and skills that inform our “ways of doing” academic practice (Calarco 2020). This article suggests that relying on informal networks to provide access to instruction in these skills can reinforce preexisting inequalities in the discipline. Drawing on a pilot program that we developed and implemented in our own department, we provide a model for formalizing instruction and equalizing access to training in these professionalizing skills. Drawing on the literature on inclusive pedagogy, as well as our own implementation experience, we advance four recommendations for scaling and transporting instruction in the “hidden curriculum” to other departments.

Type
Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

American Political Science Association. 2017. 2015–2016 APSA Departmental Survey: Doctoral Curriculum. Washington, DC: American Political Science Association.Google Scholar
Anyon, Jean. 1980. “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work.” Journal of Education 162 (1): 11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Argyle, Lisa, and Mendelberg, Tali. 2020. “Improving Women’s Advancement in Political Science: What We Know About What Works.” PS: Political Science & Politics 53 (4): 718–23.Google Scholar
Barkley, Elizabeth. 2009. Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Barnes, Tiffany D., and Beaulieu, Emily. 2017. “Engaging Women: Addressing the Gender Gap in Women’s Networking and Productivity.” PS: Political Science & Politics 50 (2): 461–66.Google Scholar
Blau, Francine, Currie, Janet, Croson, Rachel, and Ginther, Donna. 2010. “Can Mentoring Help Female Assistant Professors? Interim Results from a Randomized Trial.” American Economic Review 100 (2): 348–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonwell, Charles, and Eisen, James. 1991. Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. Las Vegas: ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports.Google Scholar
Bos, Angela, and Schneider, Monica. 2012. “Mentoring to Fix the Leaky Pipeline.” PS: Political Science & Politics 45 (2): 223–31.Google Scholar
Brown, Christopher II, Davis, Guy, and McClendon, Shederick. 1999. “Mentoring Graduate Students of Color: Myths, Models, and Modes.” Peabody Journal of Education 74 (2): 105–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calarco, Jessica McCrory. 2020. A Field Guide to Grad School: Uncovering the Hidden Curriculum. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Cassese, Erin, and Holman, Mirya. 2018. “Writing Groups as Models for Peer Mentorship among Female Faculty in Political Science.” PS: Political Science & Politics 51 (2): 401405.Google Scholar
Davis, Danielle Joy. 2007. “Access to Academe: The Importance of Mentoring to Black Students.” Negro Educational Review 58 (3–4): 217–31.Google Scholar
Epps, Edgar. 1989. “Academic Culture and the Minority Professor.” Academe 75 (5): 2326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flaherty, Colleen. 2019. “Mental Health, Bullying, Career Uncertainty.” Inside Higher Ed, November 14.Google Scholar
Gibbs, Graham. 1988. Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. London: Further Education Unit.Google Scholar
Gonzalez, Juan Carlos. 2006. “Academic Socialization of Latina Doctoral Students: A Qualitative Understanding of Support Systems That Aid and Challenges That Hinder the Process.” Journal of Hispanic Higher Education 58 (4): 341–64.Google Scholar
Hummel, Calla, and El Kurd, Dana. 2021. “Mental Health and Fieldwork.” PS: Political Science & Politics 54 (1): 121–25.Google Scholar
Jack, Anthony Abraham. 2016. “(No) Harm in Asking: Class, Acquired Cultural Capital, and Academic Engagement at an Elite University.” Sociology of Education 89 (1): 119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jack, Anthony Abraham. 2019. The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Margolis, Eric, and Romero, Mary. 1998. “‘The Department Is Very Male, Very White, Very Old, and Very Conservative’: The Functioning of the Hidden Curriculum in Graduate Sociology Departments.” Harvard Educational Review 68 (1): 133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCoy, Bryan. 2013. “Active and Reflective Learning to Engage All Students.” Universal Journal of Educational Research 1 (3): 146–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shulman, Lee. 2002. “Making Differences: A Table of Learning.” Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 34 (6): 3644.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smolarek, Bailey B. 2019. “The Hidden Challenges for Successful First-Generation PhDs.” Inside Higher Ed, October 9.Google Scholar