Breaking the Hidden Curriculum: Supporting Low-SES Students at Curtin

Abstract

This project aims to make the hidden curriculum more visible and accessible for students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds in Curtin University’s Faculty of Business and Law. Low-SES students may face challenges in higher education because they often have less access to the implicit expectations and informal academic knowledge that shape university success, such as understanding assessment requirements, participating confidently in class, communicating with teaching staff, and navigating independent learning. Through focus group discussions with low-SES students and semi-structured interviews with academic staff, the project will identify key hidden curriculum issues, academic expectations, challenges, and support needs that affect students’ confidence, engagement, and sense of belonging. These insights will inform the development of practical resources, including a “Hidden Curriculum Guide for Success at Curtin” and interactive workshop activities. A short post-activity survey will evaluate students’ perceptions of the usefulness and relevance of these resources. By translating student and staff insights into practical teaching and learning support, this project seeks to promote a more equitable transition into university learning in higher education.