Final answer:
The correct answer is option B.hidden curriculum.
Step-by-step explanation:
The concept to which sociologists are referring when discussing the disconnect between democratic values and what actually occurs in schools is B. hidden curriculum. The hidden curriculum consists of the informal teaching practices and power relationships that operate within schools, which often go unrecognized but have a significant impact on students. This curriculum encompasses the nonacademic knowledge that students learn through informal learning and cultural transmission within the school setting. It includes understanding social expectations, norms, and roles that are not explicitly outlined in the formal curriculum but are crucial for functioning in society. An example is how competition is ingrained in students through grading systems and how collaboration is encouraged by assigning group work, both of which prepare children for adult roles in the workforce and society.
To conflict theorists, the hidden curriculum also plays a part in perpetuating social inequality. It can reward those with higher cultural capital and maintain the status quo by perpetuating class distinctions. Schools can unintentionally teach children to adapt to their social roles, including acceptance of bureaucratic norms and hierarchies. This transmission of nonacademic knowledge through the hidden curriculum is essential in understanding how education shapes individuals and maintains societal structures.