Diversity-Responsive Higher Education: Narrative Results From a Community of Practice

• In Event: Toward Diversity-Responsive Education in Flanders

Abstract

Educational changes have occurred both at the government level and at our colleges and universities. Since the "New Education Movement" for progressive education in Europe and the US, educationists have sought educational breakthroughs and student-centered pedagogies. These pedagogies were influenced by John Dewey (1859-1952) and are represented in research on UDL (Universal Design for Learning) and DI (Differentiated Instruction), advanced educational paradigms that can address structural processes of exclusion (Emmers et al., 2015). Diversity and inclusion training helps teachers understand and meet the needs of different learners (Chun & Feagin, 2019; Claeys-Kulik et al., 2019; Consuegra & Cincinnato, 2020).

However, these studies on diversity in general, pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge are mostly based on self-reported assessments (Dursun et al., 2021), so practical questions remain. After all, inclusion is mainly realized in the classroom (Van Mieghem et al., 2018), and in higher education practice, it is still often a difficult conversation, for example: 'Does higher education recognize systemic racism and white privilege? How can disabled students pursue higher education? Are LGBTQIA+ students comfortable on campus? Do we provide space for pioneering students?" The right questions are asked, but the corresponding action often fails to materialize. The need for inter-organisational professionalization from the challenges of diversity often remains unaddressed, while the remedy to "action embarrassment" is precisely the provision of an "action repertoire" (Schrooten et al., 2021).

This contribution deals with the implementation of a narrative multi-perspective assessment as a means to achieve quality and inclusive higher education (HE) for all students. The research takes place in Flanders, Belgium, where diversity in higher education is increasing but access for certain social groups remains limited and dropout rates are high (Pulinx et al., 2021b). A community of practice (CoP) was established in which professionals from 14 different higher education institutions with a common interest in diversity-sensitive higher education worked together. The CoP combined the exchange of good practices, guidelines and strategies to counter inequalities in higher education related to inclusion and developed into a community of experts and practitioners in which the dissemination of knowledge was prioritized (Li et al., 2009). The CoP created a narrative review with multiple perspectives, always combining an evidence-informed and a practice-informed perspective for each diversity theme. This method was applied to seven selected themes, including multilingualism, racism and diversity in the curriculum. The narrative review was then valorised into a book to serve as a physical reference work to counter indecision and ignorance and unwillingness to act. The book also contains recommendations for follow-up research and improvement of policy and practice.

Authors

• Elke Emmers, Hasselt University
  Presenting Author

• Reinhilde Pulinx, University College Leuven-Limburg
  Presenting Author