Diversity and inclusion
In an inclusive learning environment, every student feels welcome, valued and respected.
What is inclusive teaching?
Inclusive teaching is based on the principle that all students should be able to actively participate in the learning process, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age or socio-economic background.
In addition to ensuring accessibility in the learning process, it is also important to foster diverse approaches to both traditional and contemporary subjects.
The Teaching Guide for an Inclusive Learning Environment (in Dutch only) is a good starting point for tips and advice, and is based on existing resources and best practices. Each section addresses a specific topic with questions, tips and resources, arranged in sequence of lecture design and implementation.
Vineet Thakur
University lecturer International Relations (Institute for History)
For me, inclusive teaching requires constantly rethinking my own ideas of pedagogy. To a certain extent, teaching requirements differ from course to course. So, flexibility is key. But at the same time, it is equally important to be attentive to the needs of all students in the classroom. It requires thinking through one’s own blind spots as a teacher that are ideological, experiential and/or embodied.
Inclusive teaching entails having a greater repertoire of tools available and avoiding any dogmas – including that technology necessarily makes education more inclusive.
It also implies listening to more voices in the classroom and bringing in diverse voices from the outside. Eventually, the job of the teacher is not to convince the student of a perspective but to alert them to a wider range of perspectives. Finally, a good teacher, I have learnt in these years, knows how to navigate awkward silences in the classroom.
Support
We facilitate teachers in creating and maintaining an inclusive learning environment in several ways:
Training options
Training courses focus on practical skills and provide hands-on tools that you can use to make your teaching more inclusive. For example, we offer the following internal courses:
- UTQ module Inclusive Education
- Active Bystander
- Implicit Bias
- Intercultural Competences for Lecturers and Supervisors
- Inclusive Classroom: Difficult Conversations and Situations
Further options are available on request (via internal or external providers), such as the Inclusivity Pathway Training or supervising students with diverse cultural backgrounds (website in Dutch only).
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the options, please contact us!
Accessibility
30% of students in Dutch higher education have a disability. The most common disabilities are dyslexia, mental health problems and chronic illnesses. 10% experience obstacles due to these often invisible disabilities. The Accessible Education webpage gives more information on what teachers can do to support students with a disability; for example, developing accessible teaching material.
Leiden University has an expertise centre for studying with a disability: the Fenestra Disability Centre. The staff will be pleased to advise teachers with specific questions about supervising students, and can be contacted via fenestra@sea.leidenuniv.nl.
Diversity Card Game
The What’s Your Story? card game aims to enable participants to exchange stories about diversity, inclusion and belonging.
More about D&I in the Faculty of Humanities
The Diversity and Inclusion dossier gives more information about the Faculty of Humanities vision on diversity and inclusion. You will also find useful tools, resources and information about upcoming activities and events.