Lisa Backwell (she/they) is a Community Knowledge Analyst for the InFrame Project based at the University of Edinburgh. Read more about the InFrame project; developing an inclusive framework towards collegial research leadership. 

Hide and Seek

Hide and seek was a game I played a lot as a child. I loved the hiding part, the countdowns, sneaking into small spaces, and the anticipation of being found. However, I would avoid at all possible cost being the seeker as I felt more alone and singled out to find everyone. When playing at a friend’s house, or somewhere less familiar, I disliked being the seeker even more. I think this comes down to it being more difficult because I didn’t know the environment. At home, I knew all the possible nooks and crannies a little person could fit into. Whereas at a friend’s house, I didn’t know the hiding spaces and I didn’t know the house rules, which made me feel more cautious wandering around seeking. The playing field was not level.

This is how I felt navigating the hidden curriculum during my postgraduate (and undergraduate) studies. For example, some of my peers had an awareness of the research landscape that I didn’t quite grasp. I assumed part of it might have been because I changed research field. I was also the first person in my family to go to university, so I didn’t have a prior awareness of academic cultural values and processes. There was a lot of socialising and peer-support within labs and across PhD cohorts that presented as friendly and supportive, but these activities were often inaccessible to me. At the time, I didn’t know I was neurodivergent or have the language and awareness to know what to ask for, so that I could participate. I often felt like a spectator to the postgraduate experience.  Indeed, neurodivergent students can experience unique challenges when studying a PhD, particularly around building relationships (a critical part of the PhD learning experience) due to self-silencing, overworking and feeling pressure to conform to neurotypical norms (Syharat et al, 2023). If I wanted to engage with my research community, and in turn access elements of the hidden curriculum, I would often have to deprioritise my sensory and communication needs.

Research culture shapes what’s hidden

The hidden curriculum within doctoral education and academic research describes the unofficial ways of learning that take place (Elliot et al, 2020). It can be a deeply developmental way of learning, if you have access to it.  As the name suggests though, these routes are often implicit and not explicitly taught. Due to its ‘hidden-ness’, it can be influenced by the unspoken and unwritten norms, values, beliefs and processes within academic life. In other words, the hidden curriculum can be influenced by the research culture it is being created from. For example, is it comfortable for everyone to contribute to an academic discussion and practice critical thinking skills in a competitive environment, or could this be better supported in a more open and collegial space?   

Research culture is built on the ingrained systems of social privilege within academia (Elsherif et al, 2025) that unintentionally advantage certain students and researchers based on their social identities like race, gender, socioeconomic status or disability. Indeed, “elements of the hidden curriculum ultimately serve not only in the reproduction of both hierarchy and marginalisation, but alienation as well” (Gair et al, p35-36). This includes academic cultures and practices that necessitate conforming to neurotypical norms (Sennett, 2023).

Therefore, without intentionally fostering an inclusive and equitable research culture, those who face systemic barriers in academia, may also have difficulty accessing the hidden curriculum and opportunities within it.

Seeking opportunities: ready or not, here I come

Although I found aspects of the hidden curriculum difficult to navigate, I was still able to access some opportunities during my studies that really shaped my career. Reflecting on my experiences, I realise that what often helped me access more implicit learning spaces were the intentional efforts my colleagues made to bring these prospects into my consciousness and welcome me into the research community. Here are five examples of positive actions that uncovered the hidden curriculum for me:

1. PGR Administrators sharing relevant meetings, networks, internships and highlighting the relevance this had to my specific programme of study. When opportunities set an inclusive tone, such as welcoming participation from neurodivergent and diverse perspectives, I also felt a lot more encouraged to engage.
2. Seminars about research culture and the hidden curriculum that helped me map out where it can be found and understand the rules of the game. Once the rules are surfaced for everyone, opportunities to gain diverse perspectives (hooks, 1989) on the rules can occur so they can be reimagined to be more inclusive.
3. Colleagues who approached me, offered mentorship and helped me navigate the many career paths within higher education.
4. A non-judgemental atmosphere and explicit invitation for researchers with less experience to ask questions first in meetings. This helped me participate in academic dialogues.
5. Activities facilitated in a flexible way to allow people to participate in different ways and proactively accommodated access requirements. This proactive approach to creating inclusive learning environments is called Universal Design for Learning. It can help reduce the burden of having to advocate for access needs. This is particularly important for individuals who have access needs without a formal diagnosis and thus access to many of the formal disability support mechanisms. Recent work on supporting adjustments specifically for PGRs and developing neurodiversity-affirmative PhD supervision (Riby and Hirst, 2024) has been highly welcomed by the sector.

My experience is only one example, and many more actions can be taken to surface the hidden curriculum for different groups. Essential to this, is creating a participatory and inclusive culture that diverges from hierarchical societal norms.