ICCB project initiatives presented at HERDSA
Embedding inclusive curriculum: Working from the ground up
Dr Mary Dracup, Dr Nadine Zacharias and Ms Robyn Everist, Deakin University.
Presented at: The Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) Conference, 28-30 June Darling Harbour, Sydney.
This presentation showcases an alternative approach to addressing increasing student diversity in a university that did not take a top-down, policy-driven approach. We report on the last three years of an initiative led ‘from the ground up’ by the university’s Equity and Diversity Unit (EDU) and funded by the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP), to transform curriculum and develop a university-wide culture of inclusive teaching and learning practice.
The Inclusive Curriculum Capacity Building (ICCB) program has been framed as an ongoing action research project, with a view to ensuring that achievements over the three years are highlighted, continuously improved and sustained into the future. EDU brought together academic and professional staff to work closely on a wide range of initiatives identified by the partners themselves. These aimed to embed into curricula at course level a) inclusive teaching practice, b) digital literacy, and c) academic skills and literacies. Program leaders had to operate from the periphery (Burke, 2012) to enact practical and structural changes to course design and delivery and work within the short-term funding model.
Two case studies demonstrate the process and outcomes of the ICCB approach. Evaluation of the projects has utilised quantitative and qualitative methods to identify impacts of the initiated changes on student outcomes (in particular outcomes for those students identified as ‘low socio-economic status’), and on staff capacity to develop and deliver inclusive curriculum. Data analysis has revealed some significant improvements to student retention and success in target groups.
Download the presentation: Embedding inclusive curriculum: working from the ground up (PPTX 1.2MB).
References
Burke, PJ 2012. The right to higher education, Routledge, New York.