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Behavioral Sciences
Volume 16
Issue 2
10.3390/bs16020273
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Article

Navigating the Hidden Curriculum: A Study of Resource-Based and Stories-Based Interventions in Higher Education

by
Al Robiullah
1,
Lacey Quadrelli
1,
Leslie Remache
2,
David Reed Akolgo
1,
Gerardo Ramirez
1,*,
Rebecca Covarrubias
3,
Matthew Jackson
4 and
Ji Yun Son
4
1
Department of Educational Psychology, Teachers College, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, USA
2
Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
3
Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
4
Department of Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Behav. Sci. 2026, 16(2), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16020273
Submission received: 8 January 2026 / Revised: 5 February 2026 / Accepted: 6 February 2026 / Published: 13 February 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Academic Anxieties and Coping Strategies)
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Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of difference-education interventions as institutional strategies that support students’ coping during the transition to college. We tested an intervention with two components: a resource-focused approach that makes the hidden rules of higher education explicit, and a student-driven narrative approach featuring unscripted stories from peers describing how they navigated common academic- and life challenges. The study involved 716 first-year students at a Minority-Serving Institution who were randomly assigned by course section to one of the two intervention conditions, with a campus-wide comparison group (N = 2708) drawn from non-participating sections. Results showed significant improvements in Fall-semester GPA and first-year retention for students in both intervention conditions relative to the no-treatment comparison group. Contrary to prior work, first-generation students did not benefit more than their continuing-generation peers. These findings suggest that difference-education interventions may support coping by helping students make sense of academic challenges, anticipate institutional demands, and respond to setbacks with greater persistence. Resource-based and narrative-based approaches may therefore contribute to students’ ability to manage academic difficulty and remain engaged during the early stages of college, particularly in Minority-Serving Institutions.
Keywords: motivation; diversity; wise intervention; achievement motivation; diversity; wise intervention; achievement

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MDPI and ACS Style

Robiullah, A.; Quadrelli, L.; Remache, L.; Akolgo, D.R.; Ramirez, G.; Covarrubias, R.; Jackson, M.; Son, J.Y. Navigating the Hidden Curriculum: A Study of Resource-Based and Stories-Based Interventions in Higher Education. Behav. Sci. 2026, 16, 273. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16020273

AMA Style

Robiullah A, Quadrelli L, Remache L, Akolgo DR, Ramirez G, Covarrubias R, Jackson M, Son JY. Navigating the Hidden Curriculum: A Study of Resource-Based and Stories-Based Interventions in Higher Education. Behavioral Sciences. 2026; 16(2):273. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16020273

Chicago/Turabian Style

Robiullah, Al, Lacey Quadrelli, Leslie Remache, David Reed Akolgo, Gerardo Ramirez, Rebecca Covarrubias, Matthew Jackson, and Ji Yun Son. 2026. "Navigating the Hidden Curriculum: A Study of Resource-Based and Stories-Based Interventions in Higher Education" Behavioral Sciences 16, no. 2: 273. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16020273

APA Style

Robiullah, A., Quadrelli, L., Remache, L., Akolgo, D. R., Ramirez, G., Covarrubias, R., Jackson, M., & Son, J. Y. (2026). Navigating the Hidden Curriculum: A Study of Resource-Based and Stories-Based Interventions in Higher Education. Behavioral Sciences, 16(2), 273. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16020273

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