Case Study: Piloting the Inclusive Curriculum Tool

The English Language Centre worked with the Race Equality Charter team to review the inclusivity and accessibility of their programmes using this new tool.

As part of an initiative to improve the accessibility of the English Language Centre's (ELC) summer, pre-sessional course, the ELC worked with the Race Equality Charter team to pilot the use of the Inclusive Curriculum Tool (ICT).

What is the Inclusive Curriculum Tool?

The Inclusive Curriculum Tool (ICT) is a tool that helps educators reflect on the inclusivity of their teaching methodologies and courses. It prompts educators to find and remove barriers that might prevent under-represented students from engaging in their courses.

How does it work?

Educators answer self-reflective questions about their course content, design, delivery, and assessments using an online form. This process helps them find areas of excellence as well as areas for enhancement.
Throughout the process, the participants get suggestions for supporting equality for all students. These recommendations can be specific to a particular group of students or more generic.

The English Language Center and the ICT

The English Language Centre worked with the Race Equality Charter team to pilot the Inclusive Curriculum Tool. Using the ICT, the team reviewed the English Language Centre's summer pre-sessional course. The results showed that many of the existing teaching practices for the courses were inclusive. The team conducted a follow-up session to explore the pre-sessional curriculum in detail. During this session, the team found ways to improve the student experience in many of these courses. Rachel Peacock, Pre-sessional English Senior Academic Lead from the English Language Centre, commented,

The use of the inclusive lens in evaluating our courses has supported us to further foster diversity, create a welcoming learning environment, and empower students to broaden their intellectual, social, and cultural capacities.

She continued, "Consequently, it has been a vital component in our implementation of the Student Success Framework, supporting students to reach their full potential and prepare for their future. The tool has encouraged the team to look at opportunities to further promote diversity and create a welcoming learning environment."

The Centre for Innovation in Education helped assess the information and data collected in this exercise. Now that the ICT has been tested the tool is now available for module and programme evaluations. The ICT helps support the work of the Race Equality Charter by identifying opportunities for the teaching and learning environment to be more inclusive.

Commenting on the tool, Professor Gita Sedghi said:

“The Inclusive Curriculum Tool provides teaching staff with a unique opportunity to gain fresh insights into their course content and teaching methods through the prism of inclusivity. The tool not only helps to identify opportunities to improve the experience of students from underrepresented groups, but it opens opportunities for all our students to grow – not just intellectually, but socially and culturally too – by bringing diversity into their teaching and learning environments.

“It was a great honour for the team behind the Inclusive Curriculum Tool to be awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award as this year’s University Staff Awards.”

Race Equality Charter and the ICT

The ICT is linked to the objectives of the Race Equality Charter. As the REC works to advance racial equality in the academic sector, the ICT serves as a prime example of this commitment. By assisting educators in evaluating their methodologies and course content the tool highlights the importance of creating an inclusive educational environment. The REC team recommends using the tool in combination with student perspectives and existing departmental data on equity gaps (e.g. admissions, progression, degree awarded). Reflecting on this data helps foster conversations and meaningful change at the programme level.

The Inclusive Curriculum Tool includes recommendations to support all underrepresented groups. Considering the University’s work to tackle race inequalities across the institution, departments using the tool are asked to pay particular attention to promoting and enhancing race equality as part of their work to develop more inclusive teaching content and practices.

The Inclusive Curriculum Tool was developed by:

Laura Blundell, Educational Developer, CIE
Dr Kate Evans, Educational Developer and EDI lead, CIE
Dr Zainab Hussain, Senior Lecturer at the School of Health Sciences
Rob Lindsay, Educational Developer, CIE
Professor Gita Sedghi, a Professor of Chemistry Education in the Department of Chemistry, Director of Equality, Diversion and Inclusivity (EDI) in the School of Physical Sciences and Chair of the Race Equality Charter Culture and Student Experience subgroup.