The experience of the hidden curriculum for autistic girls at mainstream primary schools

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Moyse, R. & Porter, J. (2014). The experience of the hidden curriculum for autistic girls at mainstream primary schools. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 30(2), 187-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2014.986915

Publication date: 9 Dec 2014 Added to AutiHub: 17 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
2
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 2 (50.0%)
  1. R. Moyse *
  2. J. Porter

Abstract

This article presents the findings of ethnographic case studies of three girls on the autistic spectrum attending mainstream primary schools and illustrates the difficulties they experience and the ways in which these are often unrecognised. The observations of the girls and subsequent individual interviews with their mothers, class teachers, SENCO’s and ultimately themselves, reveal the personal adjustments the girls make in response to the hidden curriculum and the ways in which these go unnoticed, effectively masking their need for support, and contributing to their underachievement in school. The research also identifies a misunderstanding of autism in girls by some teachers that contributes to a lack of support for their needs, despite their diagnosis. Teachers need to understand how autistic girls present, and how they learn, if they are to recognise the need to illuminate the hidden curriculum. The implications of these findings are that without this awareness autistic girls in mainstream settings are also at risk of limited access to the known curriculum and of social isolation.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 20 Sep 2026 01:01.

Cited references
68
With a DOI
43
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
23
2 / 68 (2.9%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
11 / 68 (16.2%)
References with detected author names
57 / 68 (83.8%)
Without detected author names
11
Without a structured title
11
Without a stable identifier
20
References with raw author names still to review
7
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
132
From DOI or external metadata
132
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
7
28 / 132 (21.2%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 104 / 132 (78.8%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
3 / 132 (2.3%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 3 / 28 (10.7%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 2 / 120 (1.7%).
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