The Decline in Chastity and Hijab Values at the Medical College: A Phenomenological Study

This study was conducted with the aim of discovering students' experiences in the field of hidden curriculum for chastity and veiling in the medical college of Mashhad using a phenomenological method. The data collection tool was semi-structured interview. An interview was conducted on the basis of purposeful sampling with 25 students. The collected data were encoded and analyzed using MaxQ software in three stages (free coding, axial coding, and selective coding). Validity and rightness of the findings were reviewed and confirmed by research participants, using research partners, and  triangulation method. The results showed that students' learning  regarding chastity and hijab while studying at Mashhad medical college was in some cases contrasted with the formal curriculum objectives, in a way that the religious and cultural sensitivities of some students regarding the attention to and observance of the boundaries of Islamic dress and interaction with the opposite sex have diminished to a lesser extent. It seems that authorities should pay more attention to the role of hidden curriculum and the related informal learning, especially with regard to chastity and hijab, and try to use existing capacities in this area to institutionalize chastity and hijab.