“Becoming a family”—the effects of the hidden curriculum in transferring institutional mission: An experience from a century-old nursing school

Objectives

This study aimed to examine the role of the hidden curriculum in transmitting the educational mission and its impacts on nursing students’ professional socialization.

Methods

This constructivist grounded theory study involved twenty-six students and five faculty members from a century-old nursing school in Macau. Semi-structured interviews examined the factors influencing nursing students’ choice of a specific nursing school and their general learning experiences in nursing studies. Open and focused coding was employed to develop categories and concepts that capture the nuances of how the hidden curriculum influences students’ personal experiences, perceptions, and values related to developing their professional identities. The data analysis was guided by the “Community of Practice” model.

Results

The educational mission fostered a hidden curriculum that emphasized nurturing qualities and social responsibilities, creating a family-like learning environment that positively influenced the professional socialization of nursing students. Under the core theme of “becoming a family,” two sub-themes emerged: “student-peer interactions - fostering sisterly/brotherly learning partnerships” and “student-faculty interactions – faculty’s acting as parenting instructors.” While the hidden curriculum promoted a democratic and egalitarian learning atmosphere among student-peers, it simultaneously reinforced hierarchical power dynamics among senior-junior students and student-faculty relationships, mirroring the power-based interpersonal dynamics often found in traditional Chinese families.

Conclusions

Explicating the educational mission can help shape a hidden curriculum that benefits nursing students’ professional socialization. Faculty members should reflect on the power inequalities reproduced by the hidden curriculum and establish appropriate boundaries in student-faculty relationships.