The role of hidden curricula on the resistance behavior of undergraduate students in psychological counseling and guidance at a Turkish University

Abstract

Student resistance can be a very important problem for the instructors in universities. Student resistance includes the conscious and preplanned behaviors towards the information presented to them in the classroom and the institutional practices. Typically, student resistance takes the form of passive or active non-compliance with roles and outputs expected of them as students. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of hidden curricula on student resistance. The research was conducted on senior undergraduate students in a Turkish University, in the Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance. Given the exploratory nature of this investigation, a case study methodology was employed. Data was collected from official documents, class observations, and interviews. The results of this research indicated that the students demonstrated resistance to some dimensions of the hidden and delivered curricula. Specifically, while the students showed resistance towards the delivered curriculum and ‘banking education’, they did not show similar resistance to symbolic violence and the ‘warming-up’ process.