The Architecture of Absence: Critical Hermeneutic Inquiry into Silenced Knowledge in Primary Education Curricula

Abstract

This study employs critical hermeneutics to investigate the systematic silences and omissions in primary education curricula across national contexts. Through rigorous analysis of official curriculum documents, textbooks, and pedagogical guidelines, the research exposes how certain knowledge forms—particularly subaltern historical narratives, critical ecological literacy, and socioeconomic consciousness—are systematically excluded from formal education. The findings reveal that these curricular silences function as an architectural absence, consciously constructed through what we term the "spiral of silence" mechanism, where initial omissions become naturalized through structural arrangements and ideological framing. Drawing on Freirean critical pedagogy and Foucauldian discourse analysis, this study demonstrates how silenced knowledge perpetuates hegemonic power structures and limits students' critical engagement with social realities. The research contributes to curriculum theory by proposing a transformative framework for critical curricular literacy that empowers educators to identify, challenge, and redress these systematic omissions. This work ultimately argues that addressing curricular silence is fundamental to educational equity and the development of critically conscious democratic citizens.