The Relationship between Hidden Curriculum Components and Student Professional Adaptability at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

  Introduction: Hidden curriculum is one of the concepts and topics discussed in the field of curriculum. It has been much considered in education research, but its impacts on the field of higher education have not been seriously taken into account. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the role of hidden curriculum components in the professional adaptability of students at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This paper is a descriptive, correlational study. The statistical population included all the students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2017-18 academic year. A sample of 361 was formed using simple random sampling determined by Morgan-Krejcie table. Data collection tools included an 11-component researcher-made hidden curriculum questionnaire (reliability coefficient: 0.97) and Pourkabirian’s two-component professional adaptability questionnaire (reliability coefficient: 0.93). The validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by a number of education sciences faculty members. The collected data were analyzed using one-sample t-test and canonical correlation coefficient. Results: The obtained mean scores in hidden curriculum components and professional adaptability were often higher than the theoretical mean scores. The canonical roots of both variables were statistically significant (correlation coefficient=0.46 for the first root and 0.28 for the second root). The 11 components of hidden curriculum, except evaluation and critical thinking, were significantly related to professional adaptability. The hidden curriculum components explained 27% (in the first canonical root) and 9% (in the second canonical root) of the changes in professional adaptability. Conclusion: The extracted variance indices and overlaps suggest that in the second root, the hidden curriculum components are not a strong predictor of professional adaptability, and that the varying state of professional adaptability cannot be predicted based on these components.