Promoting Inclusion and Equity in the Classroom

Abstract

If one of the purposes of higher education is, as Jacobs suggests in “What‘s Hope Got to Do With It?: Theorizing Hope in Education,” to create pedagogies that “are infused with hope for a better, more democratic future” (798), then the promotion of inclusion and equity is a worthy goal for any classroom.

This 20-minute mentoring session will introduce three easy ways to pro-actively promote a classroom culture of inclusion and equity, even in an inherently gendered discipline such as Theatre. By promoting and instilling inclusion and equity in the classroom, teachers have the opportunity to instill these qualities in the students. If we view the importance of inclusion and equity as a threshold concept, we can, therefore, hope that today‘s students will carry these positive attitudes with them, making the future a more inclusive and equitable place.

The session will present an inclusive introduction-exercise, an approach to creating a statement of principles on a course outline, and a strategy for un-gendering traditionally gendered assignments. Through these examples, the session will provide participants with concrete suggestions for ways to promote inclusion and equity in the classroom. The session will leave time at the end for discussion and questions.