THE LEARNING CURVE
MAKING INCLUSIVITY WORK
Ruwandi Perera believes that the answer lies in making human connections
Inclusivity, diversity, equity, equal opportunity… the list of terms highlighted across everything from organisational policy documents to social media etiquette goes on – but at their core is the profound need for everyone to feel included, respected and valued.
Understanding what inclusivity truly means can be challenging, as its definitions vary.
Depending on the context, definitions focus on different aspects of inclusivity such as providing equal access, welcoming diversity, addressing inequality and avoiding exclusion.
If one were to synthesise these variations and introduce a little common sense, we may be able to reason that to be inclusive is to disregard anything that might differentiate individuals in a way that limits or excludes them.
Ensuring inclusivity requires focus on distinct aspects based on the context in question.
In the case of education, it’s about ensuring that regardless of background, identity, gender or abilities, all students are provided with equal opportunities to access learning content, participate in related activities and succeed.
What’s paradoxical is that historically, education was a means of exclusion.
A straight-As student was in a much better position to secure a scholarship from a good university than one who had average grades. A person with a formal degree was considered much more eligible for a job than one who didn’t have a qualification.
Yet today, while formal achievements still stand (at least for now), the measurement criteria and the very definition of success have changed. Education is viewed as an enabler rather than a differentiator; it is seen as adding value to individuals and not so much as a means of measuring them against each other.
Whether the very core of education is inclusion or exclusion is a debate for another time… or perhaps never. Yet, in a world where we need to combat illnesses and climate change, and ensure survival, the need to ensure inclusivity in education so that all students have equal access to enriching their lives through learning is more significant than ever.
Discussions of diversity and inclusion are often smothered with gender, race, nationality or even skin colour, but there’s so much more to this.
Disabilities – be they physical or mental – make accessibility a crucial yet challenging aspect of education. From hearing issues to dyslexia and even the inability to handle pressure can cause students to lack equal access to learning content.
Even aspects such as personality can impact how a student experiences learning. While presentations might be a breeze for extroverts, they may be nightmares for others – so we’re faced with the question of whether it is fair.
Where people hail from, their cultural upbringing, social status, income levels and even exposure to technology can all contribute to discrimination against them.
For instance, some students might come from households that have high scholarly expectations while others may hail from homes that expect them to quickly join the workforce to support their family’s finances. These backgrounds and expectations influence students’ learning experiences differently, which is why ensuring inclusivity in education is tough.
Is inclusivity in education a white whale?
It does appear to be so; but it can also be handled in a simpler and more humane way. After all, humans – even those in the same family – are different but we’ve made it work.
Peer learning is a natural phenomenon because people learn from and with each another. We imitate others, influence others and initiate learning experiences with others. That’s how we’ve survived as a group throughout millennia.
And that’s how we’ve built towns, cities, nations and organisations. So perhaps it’s a matter of applying this natural instinct to help us educate ourselves today.
Human connections appear to be challenging to nurture and maintain in the age of AI, technology, distance learning and Zoom classes but they’re what will matter the most.
When learning with others through peer coaching, group work or simply being classmates, students engage in conversations, get to know each other’s thought processes, offer and receive feedback, and develop skills and capabilities.
They also get to know what makes them different and what they have in common. Learners then become more tolerant of differences and more appreciative of diversity.
Therefore, inclusion is an inherent part of how we learn rather than simply a goal to achieve.
