The study examines the role of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach in higher education as a strategy of trauma-sensitive pedagogy. Combining Universal Design for Learning and Salutogenesis concept, we implied to create a restorative tool to guide students toward a healthy way of learning. The key idea of Salutogenesis  is the development of a Sense of Coherence (SoC) which serves as a tool for stress resilience with follow-up restoration (Antonovsky,1987). Applying the SoC concept, educators are able to identify factors and strategies to maintain psychological health. With this in mind, we approached the idea of creating a safe, engaging, barrier- and stress-free learning environment through the perspective of Universal Design for Learning and SoC combination (Kumar & Wideman, 2014) .

In light of recent events, the issue of individual vitality and diversity as abilities that provide resources to resist crisis situations and remain productive has become crucial for today’s Ukrainian educators and learners. However, global recent events (Covid-19, natural disasters, violence in educational establishments ) have led to stressful experiences for learners all over the world (Mays, 2021). Teaching students who underwent stressful situations, we noticed dramatic changes in students’ ability to learn, including difficulties with focusing, being exposed to uncontrolled emotions, processing and recalling information, reacting unpredictably to comments, the fear of future planning, showing low self-esteem, having an increased level of anxiety concerning public speaking, being assigned and assessed. All these trauma consequences cause barriers to learning that can be eliminated when applying the strategies and philosophy of UDL and SoC which create a barrier-free learning environment and promote well-being.

Today, the salutogenic approach represents an alternative system of understanding the relationships between a personality and the environment (Eriksson&  Lindström, 2006).  Salutogenesis has entered a lot of different scientific branches like medical humanities, pedagogy, didactics, and special needs education. From Antonovsky’s theory of salutogenesis, it follows that efforts should be made not to eliminate pathogens but to maintain healing factors such as "general resources of resistance" and "SoC". The first concept includes biological, material, and psychological factors that allow an individual to experience life as permanent, understandable, and systematized. Resistance resources allow accumulating life experiences, which activate a sense of personal coherence – a way of perceiving life and the ability to successfully manage many stressful situations. According to scientific research findings (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004; Perry,2006), stress itself is not always pathogenic, moreover, under certain conditions can be a salutogenic factor.

Our objective is two-fold. We present the theoretical background for the explanation of UDL philosophy and connect it with Antonovsky’s theory (1987) of Salutogenesis, predominantly the Sense of Coherence (SoC) that is the internal personal basis for follow-up restoration. From this perspective, we applied Antonovsky’s theory as an approach that demonstrates the potentially positive impact of stress on human vitality and the ability to study, self-develop, and find new meanings. We found out how UDL strategies could be enhanced by Salutogenesis ideas and how these approaches could be combined practically. The second part is an empirical study focused on measuring the impact of suggested strategies on teaching traumatized students and creating a safe, barrier-free, and engaging learning environment. Our study is focused on two key questions:

1. What is the Sense of Coherence (SoC) level of students?
2. What are the most efficient SoC- enhanced UDL strategies?

 Our research hypothesizes that the UDL can serve as a salutogenic means to establish a healthy way of learning and problem-solving. 

To answer the study questions we decided to perform action research as it allows participants to augment the research procedure and outcomes. Moreover, students and teachers could reflect on issues that caused learning barriers and outline opportunities for positive changes. We regard it as critical to empirically study the Sense of Coherence level of Ukrainian students, as it is a basis for future transformations. In the study we employed a Sense of Coherence-13 questionnaire (Antonovsky, 1993), to evaluate the level of coherence of students before and after UDL practices integration. The questionnaire covers three key components: Comprehensibility (5 items), Manageability (4 items), and Meaningfulness (4 items). The empirical study was performed at a polytechnic university among students majoring in engineering. All students had signs of traumatic experiences. To find the answer to the second question we carried out a structured interview among teachers who implemented SoC-enhanced UDL practices. The focus of the interview was the reflection on applied practices in terms of their efficiency and feasibility. The interview included such open-ended questions: 1. What stress symptoms caused the learning barrier did you notice? 2. What learning processes were violated due to previous traumatic experiences? 3. What SoC-enhanced UDL practices did you implement and did they minimize the barriers? The interview answers were processed using inductive qualitative content analysis and a coding scheme. Statements were partitioned into units, grouped in common category headings, analyzed, and summarized. Participants We involved 128 students majoring in engineering from Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. The average age was 19-23 years old, there were 85 male and 43 female students. Among them 62 students were internally displaced. The sample size was calculated through the online size sample calculator with the confidence level of 95% and margin of error -3.76%. The students’ participation was voluntary and anonymous. There were no academic consequences if students wanted to stop participating in the study. Eight teachers from the department of English Language for Engineering participated. We involved only those teachers who were acquainted with the UDL principles and practices. Another criterion was the teaching experience as we consider that UDL implementation and trauma-sensitive teaching require practical experience (more than 5 years) and professional commitment. It was important for us to involve only those teachers who demonstrated their empathy, understanding and high level of rapport towards students.

This study was performed with a focus on UDL's potential as a restorative and empowering strategy that reduces barriers caused by psychological trauma, stress, or forced displacement and allows using previous stressful experiences as a resource to accept and meet new challenges. The study findings demonstrated that the SoC level increased after UDL practices application, so it evidenced that these practices had a restorative potential. The combination of UDL and SoC had a positive effect on students’ well-being and skills mastering from the perspective of Salutogenesis (comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness). It also contributed to the transformation of the teacher’s role from an instructor to a reflective mentor who guides students towards clarity and confidence (Comprehensibility/Representation), empowerment (Manageability/Action & Expression), mastery, and accomplishment (Meaningfulness/Engagement). Having observed the results of the study, we can state that UDL practices are a restorative and empowering strategy for trauma-experienced students and UDL can be regarded as a salutogenic tool. SoC level can serve as a diagnostic basis for applying the UDL as a didactic tool to strengthen or foster SoC components as well as to detect and dissolve barriers in learning and wellbeing.

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