Colour-evasive racial ideologies underpinning the hidden curriculum of a majority-minority occupational therapy school in London, England: an analysis of minoritised undergraduate students’ experiences

Abstract

The concept of ethnoracial ‘majority-minority’ was introduced to describe changing population demographics where racial or ethnic groups traditionally in the majority have become a numerical minority. Despite their increase in recent years, very little is known of how hidden curricula manifests in these settings. Hence, this study sought to interrogate the hidden curriculum of race at an Occupational Therapy school with a majority-minority student-educator population in London, England. We conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative data from a larger action research project. The main data source was derived from two group interviews involving 11 racially minoritised student participants, and thematically analysed through a hidden curriculum lens. Trustworthiness of the analysis was enforced through crystallisation. The hidden curriculum of race was identified as embedded within (1) formal learning, (2) the null curriculum, (3) the informal curriculum, and (4) administrative structure and functioning. It is underpinned by pervasive colour-evasive racial ideologies which perpetuate health and workforce inequities. This paper concludes that majority-minority population demographics are insufficient to mitigate the impact of wider societal norms of oppression on hidden curricula. Thus, concerted and collective efforts involving all professional stakeholders are needed to embed intersectional, critical race-conscious approaches throughout formal learning across the academic curriculum.