The Silent Curriculum: How Hidden Pedagogies Influence Student Mental Health in Modern Classrooms

This article addresses the growing concern over the mental health crisis among children and adolescents by focusing on the hidden curriculum-the unspoken norms, values, and expectations embedded within the school environment. It argues that schools often unconsciously reinforce stress, exclusion, and low self-esteem through pedagogical structures that prioritize conformity, competition, and cultural homogeneity, profoundly shaping student identity, belonging, and psychological well-being. Drawing on theoretical perspectives from Philip Jackson, Pierre Bourdieu, Michael Apple & Henry Giroux, and Paulo Freire, the study illuminates how subtle school practices transfer emotional and social expectations with significant consequences for mental health. Employing a qualitative interpretive approach through a narrative synthesis of three case studies from Anglophone secondary school settings, the study examines how implicit pedagogies shape students’ emotional well-being and identity development.