Theory of Absence in Curriculum: Recognize the Concepts, Philosophical Foundations, Aspects and Consequences of Absent Curriculum

• Published in: Rūykardhā-yi nuvīn-i āmūzishī Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 67 - 88
• Main Author: Asghar Soltani
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Persian
• Published: University of Isfahan 01.08.2023
• Subjects: absence theory; absent curriculum; critical realism; shadow curriculum
• ISSN: 2423-6780; 2476-3608
• DOI: 10.22108/nea.2023.137050.1878

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the theory of absence in curriculum and to identify its concepts, philosophical foundations, aspects, and consequences in the field of curriculum practice. After introducing the theory of absence in curriculum, the typology of different concepts of this theory, their origin, and its application in the field of the curriculum have been explained. Then, the philosophical foundations and theoretical framework of the concept of the absent curriculum are analyzed. Further, by explaining the ontology of the curriculum based on critical realism in the ideas of Matthew Wilkinson, it has been argued that the monovalence ontology in the field of curriculum studies has led to the emergence of reductive policies in the development of curricula that its aspects can be seen in the absence of part of the cultural, social, ethnic and lingual heritage in the curriculum. Finally, by providing examples of absence in the curriculum, the shadow curriculum is analyzed as a consequence of the absent curriculum. IntroductionOne of the widely used concepts in the curriculum field is the various typologies presented in connection with the concepts of explicit curriculum, implicit (hidden), and abstract curriculum (Jackson, 1968; Snyder, 1971; Eisner, 1985). In recent years, the typology presented about these concepts has expanded and curriculum thinkers have introduced and defined new conceptual fields in this field (Brown, 2009). One of the recent efforts in expanding the conceptual realm of the field is Matthew Wilkinson's conceptualization of the subject of absenteeism in the curriculum, which has led to new ideas in this conceptual realm. Wilkinson has conceptualized the theory of occultation in the curriculum by applying the teachings of critical realism to Bhaskar and adding new concepts. The two concepts of selected curriculum and absent curriculum presented by Wilkinson (Wilkinson, 2014a, 2014b), provide implications for the field of curriculum practice that can pave the way. It could lead to the improvement of the quality of curricula and the establishment of a proper and rational balance between the double presence-absence in curricula. Accordingly, the main purpose of this article is to examine the theory of absenteeism in the curriculum, its philosophical foundations, and the consequences of the absentee curriculum in the field of curriculum practice. Based on this, first, the concepts related to the theory of occultation in the curriculum, the origin and examples of each have been examined. Furthermore, the theoretical framework of the absent curriculum is presented along with an exploration of the philosophical basis of this theory, and the emergence of the shadow curriculum has been identified and introduced. Research MethodologyThe present research method is descriptive-analytical. In this method, the subject of the research is examined and analyzed by using various available sources. Based on this, to explain the topics discussed in the research, logical reasoning and analysis of topics have been used. FindingsAlthough the phenomenon of absenteeism is an inevitable thing in the curriculum, however, underestimating this issue and ignoring it, provides the basis for the formation of inappropriate consequences in the curriculum. Among the consequences of this phenomenon is the occurrence of shadow curricula in educational systems. It is the need of students who receive the most influence from the curriculum but do not have a voice in the decisions of the official curriculum. Therefore, the existence of the shadow curriculum is the result of not hearing the voices of the stakeholders in the preparation of curricula by the policymakers and curriculum planners, or other words, the existence of the absent curriculum in different ways and at different levels. Bray (2021) considers the emergence of the shadow curriculum as a reflection of the shortcomings of the formal education system, which mainly exposes all learners to their education in a uniform manner and with the banking method. The shadow curriculum with its different features contains mechanisms to compensate for some of these deficiencies. Therefore, the existence of different forms of curriculum absent from the curriculum can lead students to learn outside the formal curriculum system or the shadow curriculum (Kim & Jung, 2019a, 2019b). It seems that such trends toward shadow curricula are not accepted in many centralists educational systems where curriculum politicization is mainly controlled by the political order in the country (Levin, 2008). As a solution to this problem, Whitehead and Clough (2004) suggest that students should be considered stakeholders who influence the implementation of educational policy and be part of the solution. Discussion and ConclusionMatthew Wilkinson, a theoretician in the field of curriculum philosophy, by analyzing the thoughts of Bhaskar's critical realism, has come to believe that our ability to illuminate the unseen can significantly contribute to the field and practice of education (Ergas, 2018). By taking advantage of the eliminative criticism in the philosophy of critical realism, which aims to describe and explain meaningful causal, productive, and effective absences in an intellectual system, he has identified different levels of absences in curricula. According to Wilkinson (Wilkinson, 2014a), the selection process occurs at three levels: policy-making and curriculum planning at the national level, course selection at the level of institutes and educational departments, and curriculum implementation at the classroom level. Although, according to Wilkinson (2014a), identifying the missing curricula in these three levels and deciding to remove them can help increase the epistemological integration and ontological integrity of the curricula, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the removal of the missing curriculum While it is not necessarily desirable, it is also not easily possible. One solution can be to try to make the current curriculum more comprehensive and valuable so that the shortcomings that are always present in the curriculum are covered with the highest amount and the highest quality. Meanwhile, the question that is raised is what is the basis of absence and presence in a curriculum, and what principles and standards are decisive and vital in the presence and absence of a subject in a curriculum. This issue makes more research necessary to identify these principles and standards in curriculum development.