The Null curriculum

The null curriculum refers to anything that is not taught to us. Anything that is relegated to the null curriculum is signalled as not worth learning.

Types of curriculum include:

• Explict Curriculum: formal knowledge acquired explicitly in lessons

• Implict Curriculum: Lessons implied from a school’s culture and expectations

• Extra Curriculum: Non-academic supplementary education (i.e sports)

• Null Curriculum: Topics deemed unworthy of being taught

Curriculums can be defined as what students have the opportunity to learn - they signal what is considered worth learning and help construct societal perceptions of what is and isn’t valuable.

Elliot Eisner devised his theory of the Null Curriculum in 1985. He argued that ‘ignorance is not simply a neutral void.’ [1] By excluding certain topics from the curriculum, we uphold ignorance around them and signal that they are unworthy of attention.

Some examples of subject matter on the null curriculum in:

• History: British Colonialism, Black history and histories of the Global South

• Sex Education: Sexism, slut-shaming and LGBTQ+ contraception

• Biology: Eugenics and racialised theories underpinning biological concepts

At the Collective Futures Project, we draw on Eisner’s theory to inform how we frame our work, engaging with the power that curriculums have. We design workshops and talks to supplement existing curriculums and re-enagage with subject matter that has been relegated to the ‘null.’ In the long-term, we support a more sociall-conscious UK-wide curriculum that is informed by understandings of the Null Curriculum, cultural citizenship and equity.

[1] Elliot Eisner, The Educational Imagination: On the Design and Evaluation of School Programs (1985) By excluding certain topics from the curriculum, we uphold ignorance around them and signal that they are unworthy of attention.