Supporting the adoption of universal design for learning in low- and middle-income countries

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Introduction. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for making education more inclusive and accessible to all learners by removing barriers to learning. UDL encourages teachers to start with the goal of what learners will learn and intentionally design learning environments and instruction to give learners choice about how they engage, represent, and express material and concepts. Engagement covers how learners become interested and remain interested in what they are learning. Representation is about offering learners different experiences to receive information. Expression considers how learners demonstrate what they know. UDL aims to guide educators to create lessons and learning environments that provide learners opportunities to become expert learners who are purposeful, motivated, resourceful, knowledgeable, strategic, and goal-directed (CAST 2018; Panelist, 2021). UDL does more than foster inclusive and accessible instruction. A recent meta-analysis found that learners in instructional settings using UDL have moderately better student learning outcomes than learners in instructional settings not using UDL (King-Sears, Stefanidis, Evmenova, Rao, Mergen, Owen, & Strimel, 2023).

UDL is based on research of brain networks. The principles of engagement, representation, and action/expression align to the affective network, recognition network, and strategic network respectively. The affective network permits the learner to engage in learning by connecting the material with past experiences and emotions. The recognition network facilitates understanding of the environment and complex ideas, but how the material is represented to the learner (e.g., text, video, picture) and whether content-specific terms and symbols are defined will affect whether the learner understand and apply information. The strategic network allows for planning, monitoring, and acting which the learner uses to connect new knowledge to previous knowledge and express what he or she knows (Panelist, 2021).

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 calls for “inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (United Nations, 2015). In the context of curriculum, UNESCO recommended the use of UDL to inclusively reach all students irrespective of disability, displacement, or language (UNESCO, 2020). There is a recognition that UDL is a valuable tool for reaching the aspirations of SDG 4 and implementing instruction inclusively, but there is a need for more guidance on the application of UDL in low- and middle-income countries (McKenzie, Karisa, Kahonde, & Tesni, 2021). In 2022, USAID committed to incorporating “principles of UDL for all learners in all new USAID Education programs” (Global Disability Summit, 2022) by 2026. In order to achieve this commitment USAID is conducting research to inform the development of USAID’s guidance on integrating UDL into its education programming.

Relevance. The panel aligns with CIES 2024’s fourth sub-theme on pedagogies and protest, specifically, the sub-theme’s focus on how education institutions enable the development of capacities to act. The panel will present 1) an approach to reducing barriers to understanding UDL informed by experiences for low- and middle-income countries, 2) crucial elements of UDL at classroom-, school-, and national-level informed by USAID’s education activities, and 3) applied examples of UDL in action from primary, lower-secondary, tertiary, and non-formal education settings of USAID education activities.

Methods and Analysis. The data for the papers on this panel are mostly qualitative and focused on low- and middle-income countries: literature reviews including gray and academic literature of UDL, key informant interviews and focus group discussions with professionals knowledgeable about activities using UDL in their implementation, and teacher observations. There are some quantitative data from formative assessments. The data come from activities in countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Tajikistan, and Tanzania. The analytical methods used across the papers are predominantly content analysis, thematic analysis, and discourse analysis.

Findings. The research provides a sense of the implementation of UDL in low- and middle-income countries, including barriers to understanding, challenges to implementation, illustrative examples of education activities, lessons learned from teachers, and approaches for supporting the design and implementation of UDL. The results are pertinent for strengthening the effective integration and use of UDL in curricula, schools, and classrooms in low- and middle-income countries leading to more inclusive education that promotes choice and empowered, expert learners. Finally, the results will permit an understanding of how USAID can continue its support for UDL in its education activities in pursuit of its commitments at the 2022 Global Disability Summit.

The panel will present three papers.

1. Promoting a Global Understanding of Universal Design for Learning: The UDL Gears. The paper will address three barriers to implementing UDL in the low- and middle-income countries and present a tool designed to alleviate those barriers.

2. Promoting the Implementation of Universal Design for Learning in USAID’s Education Activities. The paper will explain the research and development of USAID’s UDL Implementation Matrix followed by an overview of the information it conveys about crucial elements of UDL at classroom-, school-, and national-level for Mission Education Officers and implementing partner staff.

3. Universal Design for Learning in Action. The paper will offer examples of successful classroom applications of UDL from USAID-funded education programs in low and middle-income countries.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Organizer

• Sean Kelly, EnCompass LLC

Chair

• Rebecca Povec Pagel, USAID Center for Education

Individual Presentations

• Promoting a global understanding of universal design for learning: The UDL gears - Loui Lord Nelson, The UDL Approach

• Promoting the implementation of universal design for learning in USAID’s education activities - Sean Kelly, EnCompass LLC; Miranda MacKay Cairns, EnCompass LLC

• Universal design for learning in action - Valerie Karr, Inclusive Development Partners; Hayley Niad, Inclusive Development Partners

Discussant

• Anne M. Hayes, Inclusive Development Partners