Unpacking the hidden curriculum of higher education

In this episode, we talk about unpacking the ‘unspoken rules’ or ‘hidden curriculum’ in Higher Education with Pam Birtill and Richard Harris from University of Leeds.

Along with their colleague Madeleine Pownall, Pam and Richard were first commissioned by QAA Membership to produce the Student Guide to the Hidden Curriculum – a practical, student facing resource explaining terminology that is a common feature of Higher Education across the sector.

The Student Guide has been incredibly well received, and we are very pleased to be able to share and discuss their latest resource, a Guide for Educators, designed to support staff to unpack the hidden curriculum in their local context.

We start things off by discussing what the hidden curriculum is and why this matters, before turning our attention to the Student Guide to the Hidden Curriculum and reflecting on how this resource supports students.

Pam and Richard then introduce the new Guide for Educators resource, explaining how staff can get started with unpacking the hidden curriculum in their subject area or across the wider institution, and how the Guide interacts with the original student resource.

We hope that you enjoy this podcast and if you’d like to learn more about our work around supporting successful student transitions, visit https://www.qaa.ac.uk//en/membership/membership-areas-of-work/teaching-learning-and-assessment/flexible-pathways-and-student-transitions

This podcast was first published on 23 September 2022.