Date of Graduation

Summer 2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Transformative Education and Social Change

Committee Chairperson

Jason Wozniak, PhD

Committee Member

Dana Morrison, PhD

Committee Member

John Elmore, PhD

Abstract

This thesis explores the history and impact of the null curriculum, which Eisner (1994) defines as "what schools do not teach" (p. 97). The null curriculum often contradicts the messages that the dominant white-supremacist patriarchy has indoctrinated into the explicit curriculum into the curriculum that American formal education uses, especially with the advent of high-stakes standardized testing. In order to overthrow this capitalist system, teachers must feel safe teaching the null curriculum. This thesis makes the case that internal reform of the American formal education system is not enough to create this liberated learning experience, and an external, full redesign of the formal education system is necessary. However, due to the scale of this project, the author has recommended in this thesis an external reform as a stepping stone to liberation.

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