Universal Design for Mattering (UDM) at School: A Conceptual Framework

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 4:20 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Who Matters? Examining Silencing, Inclusion, and Exclusion (Table 29)

Abstract

This paper crosswalks the three core principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), presenting multiple means of Representation, Action & Expression, and Engagement, and the three sub-constructs of ‘mattering’, namely attention, importance, and dependence, (Rosenberg & McCollough, 1981) to conceptualize a new framework, Universal Design for Mattering (UDM), that offers a new way to think about designing educational spaces that support the self-worth, dignity, and connection crucial to the wellbeing and holistic thriving of students in our care. The UDM framework offers a critical lens that pushes back against the normalization of locating deficits within people furthest from justice, and instead, puts the onus on educators to consider what universal design requires us to do differently.

Author

• Rebecca Eunmi Haslam, Saint Michael's College