IP unit: Reflective Report

Introduction and Context

This report will focus on my personal journey on the Inclusive Practices unit, based on my experience of designing the intervention and supported by relevant theory, i.e., Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality (Crenshaw K., 1989), the social model of disability (Oliver, 1990), the Inclusive Pedagogy (Anabel, 2021), etc…

Kimberlé Crenshaw is overwhelmingly credited with coining the term intersectionality in higher education spaces during the late 1980s and early 1990s (Collins & Bilge, 2016). Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989, 1991) introduced intersectionality as an analytic concept to address the complex latent power relations that shape the lives of women of colour, and Black women in particular. The Social Model introduced the fundamental aspect was concerns on equality. The Model was based on a distinction between the terms “impairment” and “disability”. The Model argued that, given equal rights, suitable facilities and opportunities to disabled people can address the issues such as under-estimation, then allows potential disabled people to contribute to society by enhancing economic values (Oliver, 1983; Oliver, 1990).

Inclusive education is related to the political, social and cultural processes that take place in schools. Ainscow et al. (2006), Messiou (2017), and Slee (2018) all view inclusive education as a process that maximises learning and increases the engagement of all students.

Working as a full-time lecturer with Fashion Marketing students across undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD levels for teaching and learning purposes, and also work as a Year Tutor closely with them to identify and support the students who are in need during their university life, for wellbeing purposes. We have a large cohort of students join us every year, students is around 400 per year for the 3 undergraduate courses, and around 300 students for 5 postgraduate courses. Fashion Marketing units are all well designed with a consistent structure following the SoW, individual teachers have less control in the teaching contents’ selection and design, so my intervention proposal will focus more on the ways in which I plan to deliver the content to students, and how I am planning to communicate with students during my teaching practices.

Inclusive learning

Inclusion in education in the UK has been a hotly debated political topic for many years. One of the benefits of inclusive education is that it can help to break down stereotypes and prejudices about people with disabilities. It can also help to create a more diverse and inclusive society.

The importance of inclusive education in the UK context stems from several factors that highlight the need for an equitable and diverse educational system. These factors include:

1. Legal requirements: The UK has enacted laws and policies, such as the Equality Act 2010 and the SEND Code of Practice (2015), which mandate the provision of equal opportunities for all learners, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, or needs (UNESCO, 2009). Inclusive education is essential for schools to comply with these laws and uphold the rights of students with disabilities.
2. Demographic diversity: The UK has a diverse population with varied cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. An inclusive education system ensures that all students, irrespective of their differences, have equal access to high-quality education and can benefit from a learning environment that embraces and celebrates diversity.
3. Social cohesion: Inclusive education promotes social cohesion by fostering understanding, empathy, and respect among students from different backgrounds and abilities (Ainscow, et.al, 2006; Ainscow, 2016). This helps to reduce prejudices, stereotypes, and discrimination, ultimately contributing to a more harmonious and inclusive society.
4. Maximising potential: Inclusive education recognises that each student has unique strengths and talents, and it seeks to nurture these by providing an accessible and supportive learning environment (Black-Hawkins, 2010). This approach helps to maximise the potential of all learners, which is beneficial not only for the students themselves but also for society as a whole.
5. Preparing students for the future: In today’s globalised and interconnected world, it is essential for students to develop the skills and attitudes required to collaborate and thrive in diverse workplaces and communities (Humphrey, 2013). Inclusive education plays a crucial role in fostering these skills and equipping students for a successful future.

I will focus on inclusion as the intervention. UAL is world world-leading university in Fashion and Arts, students join us from different backgrounds every year. They grow up under different cultures, beliefs, and family backgrounds; they speak different languages, with different skin, hair, and eye colour, etc.

Inclusive education means all students, including students with disability, are welcomed by their school and supported to reach their full potential. Inclusion is most effective when schools aim to create a culture that celebrates diversity and builds on the strengths of each student (NSW Government, 2021). Inclusive universities nurture professional learning communities that empower teachers to create optimum learning outcomes for students with disability through the use of best practice approaches and current, evidence-based strategies (Nunan, et.al, 2000).

In other words, an inclusive teacher supports all students to participate, learn, and succeed in all aspects of education. Back to education, no matter what racial, religious, or ethnic background, gender, learning style, or ability should have equal access to educational opportunities in a learning environment where all students are equally safe, valued, and respected.

Reflection and Action

Considering the students’ characteristics in the programme that I am working with, they come from different backgrounds/situations may develop different kind/level of needs, and students always set up different sensitive levels under some certain scenarios; then that will be extremely important for educators to identify these differences in advance and support the students in needs with specific communication skills, to comfort them and build up trust.

When working on my teaching role and Year Tutor role, I will always try to create an inclusive classroom, aiming to actively address and eliminate negative stereotypes and attitudes based on racial, ethnic, or religious background, gender, learning style, ability, or any other identifying characteristic. Finally aim to build up a warm and relaxed environment for their university life in UAL, to make it possible for students to maximize their potential.

In practice, I will continually be offering students opportunities to raise, discuss, and update their concerns with me across the year, in a confidential and private environment, for both academic and non-academic issues. I will continually support Marketing students with my best mentoring skills, i.e., create a private and relaxed conversation setting for those who’d like to speak with me privately, tracking the students’ status longitudinally to actively monitor their wellbeing, such as offering 1-1 tutorial slots every semester, etc…

During the group presentations, my peers appreciated my intervention plan, and also offered many suggestions regards it, i.e., they appreciate the broadness of my teaching practice and the limited scope for being able to implement focus on these areas, good to hear about my thought on signposting support for finances and language/learning; appreciate my focus on Year Tutor responsibilities to connect with and support students on 1-on-1 basis; my focus on language differences; and using my own language specialty to provide students a more comfortable setting.

However, few potential challenges should also be considered, i.e, for personal tutorials, the scope to open these up to discussions within class in multiple ways to also allow for online and in person conversation; while I am offering Chinese speaking conversation option, in an ideal scenario, the same offer would be available for students from different linguistic backgrounds – to support other students too, etc…

In the coming academic year, I will continue to reflect on students’ feedback and peers’ comments regarding the Inclusive Practice, aiming to provide students the equal access to educational opportunities in a learning environment where all students are equally safe, valued, and respected.

Evaluation and Conclusion

Moving forward, I will continually collect students’ feedback during each 1-1 personal tutorial as a final checkpoint, before I conclude the meeting. However, this method may not work well for every student, so I will also send an evaluation form after each 1-1 personal tutorial to the students by email, so they can leave their comments/suggestions, or raise any additional concerns with me anonymised. All Year Tutors for the undergrounds will update the attendance on the shared spreadsheet, so we can stay on the same page to support students in the best way across the years. Year tutors will have regular catch-up meetings to share evaluations, too.

By reflecting my learnings from Pg Cert into my teaching and admin role in LCF, I believe my team and I can provide a more equal and inclusive learning environment for all our students, regardless tof heir racial, ethnic, or religious background, gender, learning style, ability, or any other identifying characteristic, etc…

References

Ainscow, M. (2016). Diversity and equity: A global education challenge. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 51(2), 143-155.

Ainscow, M., Booth, T., & Dyson, A. (2006). Improving schools, developing inclusion. London, UK: Routledge

Ainscow, M., Booth, T., & Dyson, A. (2006). Improving schools, developing inclusion. Routledge.

Black-Hawkins, K. (2010). The framework for participation: A research tool for exploring the inclusive classroom. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 14(5), 427-440.

Collins P. H., Bilge S. (2016). Intersectionality. Wiley.

Crenshaw K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139–167.

Humphrey, N. (2013). Social and emotional learning: A critical appraisal. SAGE.

Messiou, K. (2017). Research in the field of inclusive education: time for a rethink? International Journal of Inclusive Education, 21(2), 14 6 –159. doi: 10.1080/13603116 .2016.1223184

Moriña, Anabel. (2021). Approaches to Inclusive Pedagogy: A Systematic Literature Review. Pedagogika. 140. 134-154. 10.15823/p.2020.140.8.

NSW Government (2021). What is inclusive education? Available at; https://education.nsw.gov.au/campaigns/inclusive-practice-hub/all-resources/secondary-resources/other-pdf-resources/what-is-inclusive-education-

Nunan, T., George, R., & McCausland, H. (2000). Inclusive education in universities: why it is important and how it might be achieved. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 4(1), 63–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/136031100284920

Oliver, M. 1990. The Politics of Disablement. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Slee, R. (2018). The inclusive education workbook: Teaching, learning and research in the irregular school. London, UK: Routledge.

UNESCO. (2009). Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0017/001778/177849e.pdf