What is inclusive teaching?

At some point in our lives, we all have issues or things that happen that reduce how well we can engage with learning. For some students, there are barriers like this that operate all the time. Disadvantages in learning can come from disability, from being a member of a minoritised group (such as ethnic groups or gender identity), from socioeconomic factors, or from speaking a different first language that the one in which teaching is delivered. Our role as educators is to create a curriculum, classroom environment, and assessment method, that allows all students to engage and to achieve their potential, whatever barriers exist in their lives. This may be around a legally protected characteristic (such as disability, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status). But wherever possible, it is best to design teaching so that all students’ needs are considered.  

This might sound difficult, given large class sizes, but actually, most ways of including students with disabilities, for example, also help other students. For example, if a student with a disability needs their lecture to be recorded so that they can revisit it again later, a student whose caring responsibilities meant they had a disturbed night’s sleep, affecting their ability to concentrate, will also benefit from the same recorded lecture. Inclusion is about trying to anticipate what students might need, rather than only being guided by the needs of specific individuals with ‘reasonable adjustments’. 

Inclusion also involves all students feeling safe and welcome in their learning environment. This means that the learning materials that we use, the reading lists we recommend, and the examples we discuss, should be representative of the diverse students in class. All students should be able to see “someone who looks like me”, whether that’s around skin colour, gender, disabilities, or whatever types of diversity are represented in your classes.