Implications of the hidden curriculum towards the development of desirable attitudes and values among students: Perceptions of Senior High School Social Studies teachers

This study aimed to examine the perceptions of Senior High School (SHS) Social Studies teachers on the relevance of hidden curricula towards the development of desirable attitudes and values among students. The phenomenological research design was adopted. The population encompassed all SHS Social Studies teachers within the Cape Coast Metropolis, but expert purposive sampling was used to select five participants for the study. The primary data collection instrument was a semi-structured interview guide. The responses of the participants were sorted and analyzed thematically. The study's findings revealed that SHS Social Studies teachers perceived that student develop attitudes of resilience, gratitude, mindfulness, integrity, tolerance, sociability, temperament, determination, cooperation, and building their self-esteem through encountering the hidden curriculum toward the development of desirable attitudes. Again, SHS Social Studies teachers perceived the development of greetings, respect, truthfulness, honesty, patriotism, self-respect, cleanliness, teamwork and descent dressing as the relevance of hidden curriculum towards developing desirable values among students. The study recommends that SHS Social Studies teachers assess students' attitudes and values through observational guides and anecdotal records to ascertain the development of students' affective domain. From this premise, Social Studies teachers must observe, monitor, assess, and evaluate students' attitudes and values. These medium paves the way to align the development of attitudes and values to the demands of the Social Studies curriculum.