The Hidden Curriculum?

Answer 1

The hidden curriculum refers to all of the social nuances involved in attending school (or other environments) a child may be interacting in. In special education, this refers to subjects that typically are not taught to "typically developing" children because they can pick up on these special rules themselves through interactions. People with cognitive disabilities (such as mental retardation, autism) typically have a more difficult time picking up on these small clues because they lack the awareness of others. These kinds of social rules may be: cliques, what halls they are allowed to walk through, talking out of turn, social groups, time frames for getting to class, where to hang out, how to ask another person on a date, appropriate responses to questions, etc. People without the awareness of such "rules" can accidentally get themselves in trouble simply because they aren't tuned in to the specifics that other people can. Unfortunately, other people can be ignorant, not thinking of the possible needs of those who cannot determine these invisible curriculums and can be cruel. It is important for people who are lacking in social skills to be actually taken aside and taught appropriate social rules so that they can better communicate with "typical" people in their environments.

Answer 2

Klo-Jann:
The concept hidden curriculum expresses the idea that schools do more than simply transmit knowledge, as laid down in the official curricula.
Behind it lies criticism of the social implications, political underpinnings, and cultural outcomes of modern educative activities.
While early examinations were concerned with identifying the anti-democratic nature of schooling, later studies have taken various tones, including those concerned with socialism, capitalism, and anarchism in education.
(Refer to source for details.)