Creating inclusive learning environments

Abstract

The higher education classroom context, together with the curriculum and pedagogy, are central to achieving inclusion and closing the ethnicity awarding gap. This applies to both face-to-face and online settings. Unconscious bias, prejudice, cultural misconceptions, and racism exist within the learning and teaching context and can arise unexpectedly during sessions or can be proactively surfaced and explored, so that they can be recognised and challenged. Whilst critical conversations about these issues are essential for students to work effectively together, anxiety about raising them, and using appropriate language, can prevent inclusion and diversity topics being explored. This thought-piece offers research-informed strategies for creating more inclusive learning environments that can provide a context for these conversations. Such environments facilitate open, respectful, non-judgemental discussions and can enable students and staff to explore sensitive and controversial issues. This thought-piece also describes a cards resource that can be used to support conversations about equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and make them more open and visible in higher education communities and other settings. Speaking about these issues should enable more confident discourse about such inequalities and how to dismantle them.