Inclusivity

Facilitator A Facilitator BLocation

Date

Workshop objectives

• know what inclusivity is• become aware of the elements of inclusive teaching and

training practices and how to apply them• be able to evaluate materials• be able to adapt texts to make them more inclusive• know about ways of creating inclusive materials

At the end of this workshop, participants should:

Activity

Understandings of inclusivity

• In pairs, discuss your understanding of the word ‘inclusivity’

• Take notes so you can share your thoughts with the whole group later

Three layers of inclusivity

• Access and equity• Valuing the knowledge and experiences of all groups• Critical analysis of disadvantage

Adapted from Curriculum Corporation Australia (1994). CURASS Guidelines Papers. Carlton South, Vic.: The Corporation.

Activity

Unpacking the principle of inclusivity:Questions we should be asking … and answering

Inclusion and empowerment

• How much the home language and culture are incorporated into the curriculum and how the culture is acknowledged

• How much minority communities are encouraged to participate in the learners’ education

• How much the education causes learners to want to become active seekers of knowledge and not just passive receivers

• How much assessment avoids placing problems with the learners and looks to the social and educational system or curriculum to find the problems

Minority groups of learners are ‘empowered’ or ‘disabled’ by four major characteristics of their educational context:

Adapted from Baker, C. (1988). Key issues in bilingualism and bilingual education. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, 193-194 after Cummins, J. (1986). Empowering minority students:a framework for intervention. Harvard Educational Review,56 (1), 19-36.

Activity

Exclusion in educational discourse

Inclusive practice

Inclusive teaching and training practice is about:• reflecting on your practice• accepting different points of view and interpretations• giving learners opportunities to share their knowledge,

cultural perspectives and understandings• working Two-Way in preparing, teaching and training• critically evaluating texts to be used with learners

Activity

Unintentional exclusion – Ways of Being, Ways of Talk

Inclusivity and texts

• inclusivity of content– culturally– socially– historically

• inclusivity of language/linguistic features

When evaluating materials, consider the following aspects:

Activity

How to assess the inclusivity of texts

Activity

Exclusion through lack of awareness

Adapting materials

• content

• language

• design

Creating materials

• What do Aboriginal educators want to see?

• Rewriting texts

What do Aboriginal education staff want most in materials?

The responses were:

• Materials should use the right language• Materials should have Aboriginal input• Materials should use appropriate media• Materials should be relevant• Materials should be inclusive

This slide and the responses presented on the following three slides were adapted fromMalcolm, I. G. et al. (2002). The Representation of Aboriginal English in School Literacy Materials. Mount

Lawley, WA: Edith Cowan University, 19-20.

Positive responses to text evaluation

• ‘It relates to Aboriginal family experience’• ‘It depicts natural surroundings…which Aboriginal people use

to predict happenings’• ‘As it is to do with the environment, all children would relate

to it’• ‘Some recognition of local and national Aboriginal role

models’• ‘…the ‘we’ view of the world; interaction with sources of

food, water and entertainment’• ‘Memories and experiences of Aboriginal people used to

develop fictional story’• ‘Shared learning’• ‘Great book – I’ve lived moments like these’

Negative responses to text evaluation

• ‘Failed to mention Aboriginal people’• ‘The having of a bath is very white! It seems like a value of

white society-hygiene standard imposed…Kimberley kids would swim in the waterhole not go home to have a bath’

• ‘No talk of Aboriginal history’• ‘History starts at 1820’• ‘It represents past history, eg how it was’• ‘Very traditional look at Aboriginal culture’• ‘Reinforces narrow historical view of Aboriginal people’• ‘It’s not written in AE [Aboriginal English] and it seems like a

good opportunity for this because it’s an Aboriginal child talking about their experiences’

Negative responses to text evaluation

• ‘Complicated, wordy instructions’• ‘…different words out of Aboriginal kids’ experience are used’• ‘Illustrations are misleading’• ‘…there is a need for authentic Aboriginal input and

application – not just tokenism’• ‘Attempted to address multiculturalism but have missed

Aboriginal culture!’

Activity

Rewriting existing texts

Inclusivity of texts

• Review materials as a Two-Way Team• Identify and explain unfamiliar cultural concepts• Identify and explain complex language• Provide adequate explanation and support (for

example, instructional, visual, audio)• Provide opportunities for non-Aboriginal learners to

be exposed to Aboriginal ways of interpreting knowledge and experience

• Consider developing your own materials• …

Summarising and reflecting• Reflect on how you have deepened your

understandings relating to the three layers of the inclusivity principle:– Access and equity– Valuing the knowledge and experiences of all groups– Critical analysis of disadvantage

• Share your thoughts with your partner• Talk about how you might apply this understanding

in your future program delivery

Workshop evaluation

Please let us know your thoughts about the workshop.