{"id":865,"date":"2021-05-18T14:39:07","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T13:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/?p=865"},"modified":"2021-05-18T14:39:07","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T13:39:07","slug":"inclusion-in-higher-education-reflections-on-international-dialogue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/2021\/05\/18\/inclusion-in-higher-education-reflections-on-international-dialogue\/","title":{"rendered":"Inclusion in Higher Education: reflections on international dialogue\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

We recently had the privilege of joining with colleagues\u00a0<\/span>in Greece<\/span>\u00a0to discuss inclusion<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>within Higher Education,\u00a0<\/span>having been invited to\u00a0<\/span>deliver a workshop as part of\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>University of Crete\u2019s<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u2018Training of the Trainers\u2019 series.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The purpose was to raise\u00a0<\/span>awareness on issues of inclusion and equity<\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0<\/span>universities in Greec<\/span>e, and\u00a0<\/span>accordingly\u00a0<\/span>Faculty from three\u00a0<\/span>other<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>u<\/span>niversities\u00a0<\/span>were also invited to attend.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From our experience we know that whilst\u00a0<\/span>many academics are committed to developing their inclusive practice,\u00a0<\/span>they<\/span>\u00a0can often feel uncertain about where to begin. Th<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0workshop introduce<\/span>d<\/span>\u00a0participants to\u00a0<\/span>our \u2018<\/span>Patterns Beyond Labels<\/span><\/a>\u2019\u00a0<\/span>framework<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>which seeks to reframe inclusion in a way that is accessible and practical for\u00a0<\/span>teaching\u00a0<\/span>staff<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>enabling them to implement\u00a0<\/span>impactful\u00a0<\/span>and sustainable approaches to supporting a diverse range of student needs.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

C<\/span>urrent practices relating to inclusion frequently perpetuate notions of individual \u2018difference\u2019 through diagnosis and labelling as a way of legitimising support<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>M<\/span>ov<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0beyond labels of individual difference to instead identify<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0patterns of difficulty<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0helps us to realise that\u00a0<\/span>many students face similar barriers in learning and teaching.<\/span>\u00a0This perspective e<\/span>ncourages us to explore\u00a0<\/span>the benefits that an\u00a0<\/span>inclusive design<\/span>\u00a0approach brings to\u00a0<\/span>all students and contribute<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0t<\/span>o an institution-wide approach to embedding inclusivity at the heart of teaching and learning practice.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Engaging in this international dialogue<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0we were struck by how transferable both issues and solutions were<\/span>\u00a0between our two contexts<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>For instance, the difficulty in supporting students from all backgrounds to<\/span>\u00a0declare known\u00a0<\/span>disabilities before, or at, university<\/span>\u00a0appeared equally pressing in Greece as it is in the UK<\/span>. Patterns of difficulty<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>faced by students<\/span>, identified by workshop participants,<\/span>\u00a0were also comparable\u00a0<\/span>to those recognised by staff in similar workshops we have run in the UK\u00a0<\/span>\u2013 information overload, physical access<\/span>\u00a0to learning spaces<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>barriers to accessible\u00a0<\/span>technology<\/span>, cultural issues surrounding<\/span>\u00a0group work,<\/span>\u00a0and awareness of the<\/span>\u00a0\u2018hidden\u2019 curriculum<\/span>\u00a0are just some examples<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This opportunity was helpful in reaffirming ou<\/span>r<\/span>\u00a0approach to inclusive learning and teaching at Bath, and in finding both language and practical applications that are readily recognisable to teaching staff. We also reflected on the encouragement that comes from engaging with colleagues in other institutions, the opportunity to learn from a wider set of experiences, and the<\/span>\u00a0immediate<\/span>\u00a0sense of connection felt<\/span>\u00a0between practitioners<\/span>\u00a0where\u00a0<\/span>commit<\/span>ment<\/span>\u00a0to student success<\/span>\u00a0is so obviously prevalent<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You can read more about our approach to inclusive learning and teaching via the\u00a0<\/span>CLT Hub<\/span><\/a>. There you will also find specific guidance and practical strategies for\u00a0<\/span>supporting students with disabilities<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>decolonising the curriculum<\/span><\/a>, and thinking about\u00a0<\/span>student transitions<\/span><\/a>\u00a0into,\u00a0<\/span>through<\/span>, and out of university \u2013 all of which respond to our shared commitment to\u00a0<\/span>supporting the needs of all learners<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Abby Osborne; Robert Eaton\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Centre for Learning & Teaching<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We recently had the privilege of joining with colleagues\u00a0in Greece\u00a0to discuss inclusion\u00a0within Higher Education,\u00a0having been invited to\u00a0deliver a workshop as part of\u00a0the\u00a0University of Crete\u2019s\u00a0\u2018Training of the Trainers\u2019 series.\u00a0The purpose was to raise\u00a0awareness on issues of inclusion and equity\u00a0in\u00a0universities in Greece,...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1003,"featured_media":621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[64,92],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equality-and-diversity","category-inclusion","tag-inclusivity"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/135\/2019\/08\/Team_members_joining_hands.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd4Piw-dX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1003"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/clt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}