Harmony in learning: cultivating diversity and inclusion in school communities

Sanjhee Gianchandani

Inclusion in the classroom means that all students, irrespective of their racial, religious, or ethnic background, gender, learning style, or ability have equal access to educational opportunities in a learning environment where they are equally safe, valued, and respected. Inclusion in the classroom is immensely important because it fosters each child’s sense of belonging, the feeling of being seen and understood for who they are, and their inherent value as a human being. Inclusive classrooms empower children to grow and thrive as self-assured individuals, not just as students, but in life as citizens of the world. Within inclusive school cultures, educators deal with fewer absences and disciplinary issues because students who feel valued and included tend to be more invested in their positive participation in learning. For parents and caregivers, inclusive classrooms mean that their children are spending time in a nurturing space.

Inclusion in the classroom

Creating an inclusive classroom is not rocket science. Educators need to be sensitive towards all their learners and must ensure that the classroom is a safe space for all the students. Here are some ways in which this can be done:

Choose texts astutely

At the beginning of the school year, it is a good idea to ensure that the materials that are going to be used cater to a variety of geographies, cultures, communities, ethnicities, languages, etc., from across the country. If prescribed materials focus on a particular culture, educators must ascertain that their discussions push the envelope and allow for other perspectives to be included. For instance, if in a language classroom, students are reading a story about a family celebrating the Pongal festival, educators can tell students about other harvest festivals and encourage them to share how they celebrate such festivals at home. Integrate these enriching conversations into their everyday lives and avoid the “tourist approach”* when it comes to dealing with diversity.

Use accessibility features

If digital materials are being used in the classroom, inclusion must be thought about at the time of conceptualization itself. There are many assistive/adaptative technologies and accessibility features easily and freely available to help learners with special abilities and learning preferences. Educators can make use of the following ways to help learners perceive content as they are comfortable.

• Use screen readers to read aloud web pages for learners who cannot read the text. Educators can integrate free or built-in screen readers like Microsoft’s Narrator or ChromeVox. They can start by using these tools to read aloud digital content like web pages, e-books, presentation slides, and documents.
• Use screen magnifiers and customized fonts in different types, colours, spacing, and sizes to help students with low vision.
• Use speaker notes, captions, and audio and video descriptions to help students with hearing impairments. They should enable captions for videos (e.g., YouTube’s built-in captions) and include speaker notes in presentation slides. For audio content, they could use transcription services like Otter.ai to provide written content for students with hearing impairments.
• Simplify the digital classroom environment by using tools like Google Classroom’s “minimal view” to remove distractions. Create clear, concise presentations that focus on key information only, and avoid overcrowded slides or web pages.
• Provide alternate presentations of content. The text should include translations to other languages including sign language and braille. Offer translated materials or basic sign language resources through free tools like Google Translate, ensuring inclusivity for non-native speakers or those with hearing impairments.
• For students with mobility challenges, encourage the use of voice-to-text software such as Google Docs’ voice typing feature, or speech-to-text tools in smartphones. Students can also use built-in text-to-speech features on phones or computers for easier interaction with materials.
• Allow tactile, auditory, and visual notifications by prompting the learners with sound, vibration, visual dialog boxes, etc. Set up visual or auditory cues in presentations (such as using sound alerts for quizzes) or digital classroom management tools (like reminders for upcoming tasks) to ensure students stay on track and are notified in different ways.
• Educators can use free online tools like WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) to check their class websites, digital documents, or presentations for accessibility. This helps identify any issues that might prevent students from fully engaging with the content.

Circumvent pigeonholing

Stereotypes based on culture, religion, or gender must be avoided at all costs. Nowadays, most publishers are conscious of this while creating their textbooks and other learning materials. Educators must also take this seriously and be more inclusive in their explanations and examples. For instance, mothers should be shown to have independent careers, sit-at-home fathers taking care of the home and kids should be normalized, and new families with same-sex couples, co-parenting, reconstituted families, pet parents, plant parents, and single-parent families must be showcased. Educators must allow for healthy discussions on these topics and contextualize them as far as possible.

Select neutral pronouns

Pronouns are linguistic tools that we use to refer to people. Consequently, it is critical that the people being referred to identify with those pronouns and are allowed to point to the pronoun that they want to be addressed by. Using incorrect pronouns may lead to the person feeling alienated, dismissed, and disrespected.

Also, assuming someone’s pronoun just by looking at them is a harmful practice and implicitly reinforces stereotypes. It is best to use gender-neutral pronouns. For instance, ‘they’, which we have used as a plural pronoun is being accepted worldwide as a singular pronoun.

Model all-encompassing language

Inclusive communication is key to affirming diversity. All instructions whether printed or verbal must eliminate negative biases. Remarks such as ‘Don’t cry like a girl’, ‘Act like a lady’, or ‘Man up’ must be avoided. Instead, inclusive terminology must be used consciously. Here are some commonly used presumptuous words along with their alternatives:

• Mothers and Fathers → Families, caregivers
• Boys and Girls → Students, scholars
• Businessman → Businessperson, business representative
• Chairman/chairwoman → Chairperson, chair
• Salesman → Salesperson
• Manpower → Workforce, workers
• Postman → Letter carrier, postal worker
• Manned → Crewed
• Man-made → Human-made
• Mankind → Humankind, humanity
• Air Hostess → Flight attendant
• Waiter/waitress → Server
• The common man → The average person
• Husband /Wife  → Spouse/partner

Also, groups based on gender must be replaced with those based on the first letter of students’ names, their birth number, etc. Euphemisms or agreeable expressions substituted for potentially offensive words should be used. For example, use ‘economically disadvantaged’ for ‘poor’, ‘pre-loved’ for ‘second hand’, ‘visually impaired’ for ‘blind’, ‘passed away’ for ‘died’ and so on.

Differentiate and scaffold instructions

Educators must adjust their teaching to meet the needs of all students by considering four key factors: content (what students will learn), process (how students will engage with the content), culminating projects (tasks that help students apply and extend their learning), and the classroom environment (how it works and feels). To support all learners, activities and instruction should be modified using tiered approaches, meaning students work on the same important skills and understandings but at different levels of support, challenge, or complexity. Additionally, giving students different amounts of time to complete tasks provides extra support and helps them succeed.

Pre-assess pedagogical practices

Before beginning your teaching for the year, assess each student’s learning level. You can do this by creating an environment that is personalized to students’ needs and by talking about learning that focuses on what students can do and what they would like to do next. This can be done through tutorials, Individual Learning Plans (ILPs), and short and long-term goal setting by the learner so that they feel they have ownership of their learning. If you provide students with opportunities to tell you what is working and what needs attention, you will have a better idea of what to focus on. Also, giving students a choice is empowering in many ways because it creates equal and fair opportunities to show learning and progress in a way that a standard test (which many students struggle with) may not.

Create suitable learning environments

Design learning spaces keeping in mind both inclusivity and functionality. Ramps for students with wheelchairs, cluster seating, and distance from the board should all be things to consider. Determine how you can arrange your room to accommodate kids with sensory difficulties, mitigate distractions, and make learning easier for specially-abled students. Also, make sure that classroom posters, pictures, books, toys, and other materials are diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, age, family situations, and so on. Varied representations are not only important for making diverse student populations feel included but these components also have an integral role in keeping students focused on their studies rather than in navigating the classroom.

Stand up for social justice

Do not ignore prejudiced behaviour in your classroom. Avoiding the problem will not make it go away, and your silence may even give the appearance of tacit approval. Instead, set clear expectations of socially-inclusive behaviour and make it clear that you will not tolerate racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, or other offensive jokes, or slurs, and explain why. If you cannot respond at the time an incident takes place, respond as soon after as possible before the problem worsens. For the students who have been humiliated or “othered”, the best approach is to be compassionate so that they see themselves as valued participants in the classroom. Make empathy training as central to your lesson plans as reading, writing, and solving sums. You should be a role model for students when it comes to standing up against discrimination. Reflect and practice inclusive multicultural values in all aspects of your life, not just inside the classroom. Demonstrate that you respect and value everybody’s knowledge, talents, and diversity.

Handle harmless disruption delicately

While it is important to enforce and reiterate certain standards of behaviour in the classroom, educators must deal with small bouts of disruption sensitively. For instance, instead of writing the name of a child who is unable to follow a repeated instruction on the board, you can counsel them later in a personal interaction. Calling out one student is singling them out and can be humiliating, especially if they are dealing with attention deficit disorders. Also, it is a good idea to keep parents and caregivers informed and involved at all times so that they are aware of what their children are experiencing in their school life.

In conclusion, according to UNICEF, disabilities are one of the most serious barriers to education around the world. Inclusive education aims to break down this barrier by recognizing and promoting all children’s right to education, and prioritizing their wellbeing, autonomy, and dignity. Thus, it becomes pertinent for school authorities and educators to strategize ways of developing equitable and equality-focussed learning environments through structured conversations, awareness of social and emotional conditions, alternate means of participation, specific classroom norms, personalized interactions, non-competitive ways of learning, cross-cultural communication, inclusive language, and sensitive conflict resolution.

References

• https://drexel.edu/soe/resources/student-teaching/advice/Promote-Inclusion-in-the-Classroom/
• https://www.waldenu.edu/online-bachelors-programs/bs-in-elementary-education/resource/best-practices-for-creating-an-inclusive-classroom-environment
• https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2017/11/15/create-inclusive-classroom-environment/
• https://www.newschool.edu/lgbtq/gender-identity-pronouns/
• https://www.grammarly.com/blog/gender-neutral-language/

*The term refers to engaging with a culture in a superficial, external way, often treating it as an exotic or isolated concept rather than understanding it as part of everyday life.

The author is an English language curriculum designer and editor. She holds a Master’s degree in English from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi, and a CELTA from the University of Cambridge. Her extensive experience includes serving as an English language assessment specialist for Trinity College London, assessing various international English language examinations, leading examiner and marker cohorts for Qualifications and Assessments International, UK and developing educational materials for the K-8 segment. She has authored two series – Grammar Sparkle (Grades 1-8) and Let’s Learn to Listen and Speak (Grade 4) and is currently writing her next. As a consultant editor with various renowned publishing houses, she has edited over 100 books ranging from academic to fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and children’s writing. Her articles on ELT pedagogy and learning strategies have been published in several educational magazines and blogs. She can be reached at sanjheegianchandani28@gmail.com.