The Inclusive Index- a self-assessment tool for mapping the social dimensions of Higher Education

Author(s):

Elena Marin(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

04. Inclusive Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

04 SES 02 C, Tools and Technology in Inclusive Education

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-22

15:15-16:45

Room:

W6.21

Chair:

Charlotte Riis Jensen

Contribution

The paper aims toanalyse researchers and university teachers’ opinion regarding the development of an Inclusion Index for higher education (HE). The Inclusive index for HE targets to facilitate the process of identifying present difficulties and match those identified difficulties/barriers with corresponding strategies that will help narrow gaps and move towards inclusion. The Inclusion Index for higher education, viewed as a self-assessment tool for mapping the dimensions of social dimension of HE, will follow the social model of disability and will also provide a set of indicators which will guide higher education institutions to go through the stages of preparation, investigation, development and review in order to foster the existence of an inclusive learning environment.

The core of this present study lays on the assumption that nowadays the goals for higher education is viewed both as a mean to foster economic growth and also to foster social cohesion. In this sense, within the framework of the Bologna process, the social dimension of higher education has been present since the Prague communiqué of 2001, which focused on the need to work towards the inclusion of all students. The following declarations and communiqués - Berlin, 2003; Bergen, 2005; London, 2007; Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve, 2009; Budapest-Vienna, 2010; Bucharest, 2012; Yerevan, 2015 - have continued to emphasize the need to promote the Higher Education`s (HE) social dimension in constructing and consolidating the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Despite widespread usage of the concept, there is no precise and commonly accepted definition of the social dimension in higher education. Yet, in the literature, the concept social dimension of HE is related to the following concepts: student wellbeing (OECD, 2012; Margrove, 2015); providing authentic learning experiences (Kearney, 2013; Iucu & Marin, 2014); well-trained teaching and administrative staff (Sharma et. al., 2008; Marin, 2014); adapted infrastructure (Hanafin, et.al.,2007); building strong collaborations with specialist in order to develop learning materials as for example braille textbooks, audiobook, etc. (Jones, 2013) and financial aid for students (OECD, 2006; European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2014).

As presented there is a major progress made in the European educational systems, but there are still some challenges that need to be responded to and they are related to the promotion of a measurable set of strategies that are related to the social dimension and the establishment of a reliable systems that monitors the participation of disadvantaged groups in HE. The scientific and policy-oriented literature emphasizes some challenges that the universities face when trying to face and support diversity. These challenges are firstly related to the fact that the social dimension of higher education is understood differently from one country to another (EACEA/Eurydice, 2014). Another aspect is related to the fact that very few countries have linked their policy with the need of raising the participation of under-represented groups in order to help university to become a mirror of the overall societal distribution (EACEA/Eurydice, 2010). And maybe one of the most important challenge is linked to the fact that very few countries have established clear targets to support the improvement of the participation rate of under-represented groups in higher education and the monitoring process of under-represented groups` participation (Clancy, 2010).

Method

In order to peruse the objectives stated above a qualitative methodological approach was used. A semi-structured in-depth interview with professionals in academia and researchers will be conducted in three universities in Romania. The interview guide seeks to evaluate what was the impact of educational policies regarding the HE social dimension in Romania and describing the changes these policies have produced at a national level. Moreover, the focus will be on how are the Romanian universities structured in order to sustain the development of more equitable and inclusive HE system and what are the structural and organizational conditions implemented in order permit the switch to an equitable and inclusive university perspective. All transcriptions will be coded using line-by-line coding in accordance with Charmaz’s (2006) guidelines on coding for grounded theory. The Maxqda 11 software for qualitative data analysis will be used to facilitate coding, data management and promote transparency. The research is currently ongoing at the Center for Development and Training in Higher Education, but we can advance some of the preliminary results.

Expected Outcomes

Taking into account the results, there are several aspects which stand out in understanding the impact of educational policies at national level when it comes to the social dimension of HE. It appears there is a low impact of educational policies and this is due to the lack of expertize or to the lack of national implementation and monitoring procedures. Given these challenges most HE institutions prefer to develop in-house strategies. This is why it is important to look further and try to understand how the Romanian universities are structured in order to sustain the development of more equitable and inclusive HE system. Putting together the different structures (e.g. some HE institutions have developed department that are in charge only with trying to understand students’ needs, others have created a subdivision within a pre-existing departments or others have developed a center of research that is responsible for fostering the dialogue between universities` and their students so that they could mediate and influence changes to support the inclusion of all students) will help mapping the different approaches that HE institutions adopt in order to develop a student-centered education. Moreover, these practices will be collected in a good practice guide that will be useful not only for HE institutions, but also for policymakers, researchers in the field of social dimension in education and students.

References

Selective bibliography: Bologna Process, (2012). Making the Most of Our Potential: Consolidating the European Higher Education Area, Bucharest Communiqué, 26 and 27 April 2012, Available at: http://media.ehea.info/file/2012_Bucharest/67/3/Bucharest_Communique_2012_610673.pdf Bologna Process, (2012). Yerevan Communiqué, 14-15 May 2015, Availabe at: http://media.ehea.info/file/2015_Yerevan/70/7/YerevanCommuniqueFinal_613707.pdf Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory. A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: SAGE. Clancy, P., (2010). Measuring Access and Equity from a Comparative Perspective. in: EACEA/Eurydice, 2010. Focus on Higher Education in Europe 2010: The Impact of the Bologna Process. Brussels: EACEA P9 Eurydice EACEA/Eurydice, 2010. Focus on Higher Education in Europe 2010: The Impact of the Bologna Process. Brussels: EACEA P9 Eurydice EACEA/Eurydice, 2010. Focus on Higher Education in Europe 2010: The Impact of the Bologna Process. Brussels: EACEA P9 Eurydice European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2014. Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe: Access, Retention and Employability 2014. Eurydice Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union Hanafin, J., Shevlin, M., Kenny, M., & Neela, E. (2007). Including young people with disabilities: Assessment challenges in higher education. Higher Education, 54(3), 435-448. doi:10.1007/s10734-006-9005-9 Iucu, R. B., & Marin, E. (2014). Authentic learning in adult education. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 142, 410-415. Jones, F., Jones, K., & Szwed, C. (2013). The Special Needs Coordinator as Teacher and Manager: A Guide for Practitioners and Trainers. Routledge. Kearney, S. (2013). Improving engagement: the use of ‘Authentic self-and peer-assessment for learning’ to enhance the student learning experience. Assessment & Evaluation In Higher Education, 38(7), 875-891. doi:10.1080/02602938.2012.751963 Margrove, K. (2015). Promoting the wellbeing and social inclusion of students through visual art at university: an Open Arts pilot project. Journal Of Further & Higher Education, 39(2), 147-162. doi:10.1080/0309877X.2013.778967 Marin, E. (2014). Are Today's General Education Teachers Prepared to Face Inclusion in the Classroom?. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 142, 702-707. OECD. (2006). Higher education: Quality, equity and efficiency. OECD Observer, (256), 20. OECD. (2012). Equity and quality in education: Supporting Disadvantaged Students and Schools. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Sharma, U., Forlin, C., & Loreman, T. (2008). Impact of training on pre-service teachers' attitudes and concerns about inclusive education and sentiments about persons with disabilities. Disability & Society, 23(7), 773-785. doi:10.1080/09687590802469271

Author Information

Elena Marin (presenting / submitting)

University of Bucharest, Center for Development and Training in Higher Education, Romania

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