Sociologists have noted that the informal teaching practices and power relationships by which schools operate produce a disconnect between democratic values and what actually goes on in schools. about what concept are such arguments referring

The arguments that the informal teaching practices and power relationships by which schools operate produce a disconnect between democratic values and what actually goes on in schools are referring to the hidden curriculum concept. This concept denotes the unwritten, unofficial, and often unintended lessons, values, and perspectives that students learn in school.