The Hidden Academic Curriculum and Inequality in Early Education: How Class, Race, Teacher Interactions, and Friendship Influence Student Success, 1st Edition

The Hidden Academic Curriculum and Inequality in Early Education is a compelling read, investigating the differences in the school-based behaviors of first graders of different socio-economic statuses, races, ethnicities and genders, and their interactions with teachers, peers and parents. With a background in sociology, Kozlowski proposes that because of cultural differences in behavioral expectations and instructions received in the home, children from different backgrounds develop varying skills in decoding implicit instructions. Because such instruction occurs commonly in daily learning activities, educational inequity that is invisible to most arises and is coined by the author as the “Hidden Academic Curriculum.” Kozlowski additionally provides observations and insights regarding unequal patterns of rewards and punishments for different groups of students, and how peer behaviors reinforce and exacerbate skill-based differences among learners. Through the author's research, Kozlowski observed 3 first-grade classrooms from 2 different schools, each in a different, urban, North Carolina school district, throughout most of the 2013 to 2014 academic year. Each school was well-funded, high-performing, and had “sizeable populations of White, Black, Hispanic and Asian youth of different socioeconomic backgrounds.” The author beautifully paints pictures of the observed classrooms for readers and supports the theories described in the book by weaving together quotes and descriptions from interviews and in-classroom observations, analysis of field data, and supporting findings from existing sociological and early educational research. This book is well-written and easy to read, with its ideas presented in an engaging manner. Throughout the book, Kozlowski invites readers to reflect on their own experiences and practices with consideration of how differences in young learners' decoding skills creates barriers for them in the classroom and worsens the inequities that young children from disadvantaged and minority groups face. In addition, the author provides evidence for well-known differences in rewards and punishments for students of different races and genders. Although some ideas presented in this book are not revolutionary, the author reinforces the importance of keeping these concepts, of which many of today's educators and practitioners are familiar, in mind. She describes how insidious and harmful discriminatory day-to-day behaviors can be, even in the context of good intentions. While the content of the book is well-researched and explained in a clear, digestible manner, the key limitation of this work lies in the small and specific population on which the study was based. As outlined in the text and appendices, the author put great thought into the selection of the 3 observed classrooms to maximize socio-economic and racial diversity, although the small sample size limits the generalizability of the findings. Throughout the book, the author examines varying educational experiences of children of different races, ethnicities, and socio-economic statuses. It should be noted that most the book's discussion relating to race and ethnicity focused on comparing the experiences of Black and Hispanic children to those of White and Asian students. Although important discrepancies were identified in these comparisons, differences in the experiences of Black students in relation to Hispanic students, White students in relation to Asian students, and comparison of the experiences of children from other racial and ethnic backgrounds would benefit from further attention and study. Although these limitations should not impede readers from taking concepts from this work and interpreting them in the context of their own early education and child settings, readers should interpret the findings from this small study carefully. Overall, The Hidden Academic Curriculum and Inequality in Early Education is thought-provoking and provides unique insight into day-to-day behaviors and interactions occurring in American classrooms. This book is an excellent read for those working in education, specifically in early childhood education settings. It will additionally benefit readers with interests in educational equity, and parents. In a time where implicit biases have gained increasing attention, this book provides an important contribution in encouraging anyone working with young children to check and address potential biases. It offers clear areas for improvement in teaching instruction and behavioral management in educational settings to optimize learning and outcomes for all children.