by
Susan Thompson and
Ludmilla Kwitko
Cultural inclusivity in both
curriculum content and class room teaching practices is increasingly important
given the diverse and multicultural nature of our community, growing numbers of
overseas university students and the tendency for work to be set in a
globalised context.
The guidelines in this document build on previous ANZAPS presentations (Kwitko and Thompson, 2000; Kwitko and Thompson, 1998; Allison et al, 1997). At the last ANZAPS in Palmerston North, New Zealand participants said that they needed specific skills to help them develop greater cultural sensitivity in both curriculum development and teaching practices. These guidelines are a direct response to that request. The purpose of our presentation to this ANZAPS is to trial these guidelines.
Elsewhere we discuss the current
theoretical debates in this area and report the
findings of a survey on the ways that Australian and New Zealand planning
academics teach students about issues of difference and diversity (Kwitko
and Thompson, in press). This research highlights the need for academics to make
theoretical/practice linkages explicit and to integrate the issues of cultural
inclusivity into their course content and classroom practices. Our survey also illustrates some of the
difficulties that educators have in this area and reinforces the need for
practical assistance.
The guidelines presented here have the following qualities:
In developing the guidelines we have adopted a working definition of 'inclusivity'. This encompasses the following principles:
Format of the
guidelines
Key Concerns |
Strategies, Suggestions and Tools |
|
What is my background? How does this influence my world view? |
Consider how your gender, ethnic/cultural background, first language, level of physical ability, sexual preference, age, class and religion influences the way you see the world and the perspective you bring to planning issues in the classroom |
|
What are my stereotypes and value judgements about people who are different to me? |
Consider your reactions/ feelings to people who are different to you. For example: When an Aboriginal youth or homeless person walks behind me, how do you react? What do you feel? When you see a woman in a hajib, what sort of a person do you think she is? When you see a person in a wheelchair, what is your reaction? |
|
How does the way that I use language include or exclude others? |
Think about your use of short forms of words, slang, technical abbreviations, sexist and racist language. Does this inhibit communication? How? |
B. Who is in my
Class?
|
Key concerns |
Strategies,
Suggestions and Tools |
|
What is the gender balance in my class? |
Is the class gender balanced? If not, how might this impact on the class and your teaching? What do gender relations in the classroom mean in relation to status/power issues? |
|
What is the age range? |
Consider how age and experience vary within the class. Consider how this might impact on your relationships with students in terms of supervision, assessment and mentoring. |
|
Are there differing levels of physical ability? |
What are the practical implications of teaching those who are hearing impaired, visually impaired, physically impaired, physically disabled or wheelchair bound? How do these different abilities impact on classroom, interactions? What are the unconscious assumptions you make about people in the class with different abilities? |
|
What is the cultural and ethnic mix? |
Read about different ethnic groups to gain an informed understanding of cultural values and social customs, communication and learning styles (see Putnis and Petelin, 1996). Be cautious about adopting generalised stereotypes of a group. |
|
Am I aware that there may be people with different religious affiliations in my class? |
Inform yourself about different social mores and be careful of making generalised stereotypes. |
|
Am I aware that there may be people with different sexual preferences in my class? |
Be aware of making generalised stereotypes of those with a different sexual orientation to yourself. |
|
Am I aware of the range of family situations in my class? |
Are any of your students parents? What implications might this have for class attendance and going on field trips? Acknowledge and appreciate that all students come from different life contexts with a variety of responsibilities and obligations which may impact on their class room behaviour and successful learning. |
|
What sort of paid employment are students undertaking? |
What do you assume when a student falls asleep in class? He/she is lazy and disinterested? He/she has been working all night to earn money to live? How do you deal with this situation? |
|
What is the range of socio-economic status in my class? |
How does socio economic status impact on students’ access to teaching resources, IT equipment, the ability to present material and going on field trips? |
|
How do I find out who is in my class? |
Talk to students informally at social enrolment and other related social functions. Look at student enrolment records. Ask students to fill out background sheets, including why they are doing planning, previous experiences and interest in the class they are undertaking. |
|
Where else can I go to get help for me and for my students in addressing diversity in the class? |
Seek out advice, guidelines and resources from the university’s equity and diversity unit, student disability unit, student association or council, cross cultural or international students’ unit, learning centre, counselling service, indigenous student support centre and indigenous preparatory programs. |
|
Key Concerns |
Strategies,
Suggestions and Tools |
|
What is my educational philosophy? |
What is your approach to teaching? Do you see your teaching role as facilitator, expert, analyst, researcher or a combination? How does your educational philosophy impact on your teaching in practice? How does your educational philosophy impact on your students' learning experiences?
|
|
How do I teach in a diverse classroom? |
Does your teaching style acknowledge the existence of a range of teaching and learning styles? |
|
Am I aware of the way I teach? |
Consider inviting a colleague into your classroom to give you feedback on your classroom interactions. Conduct regular and informative student evaluations. Look for opportunities to develop teaching skills for example, supervision workshop. |
|
How do I encourage discussion in my class? |
Ask broad questions to open up student debate. Use student initiated questions to facilitate further classroom discussion. Provide non-threatening opportunities for students to engage in discussion and ask a range of questions. With large numbers in a class, ask each student to write down a question arising from the class to which you respond and/or use to generate further discussion/ideas in the next class. Walk around the class and encourage individual students to respond to ideas (this is particularly powerful following an A-V presentation.) Request classrooms where you can move the furniture to allow for different discussion formats. |
Course Outline: Content
|
Key Concerns |
Strategies,
Suggestions and Tools |
|
Does my approach incorporate a diversity of perspectives into the course design? |
Look for opportunities to team teach. Have a variety of perspectives from different staff and/or visitors for a diversity of inputs. For example, in a land use class examining retail use, get perspectives from local government developer planners, shopping centre developers & managers, architects, shoppers including women with small children, teenagers and older people. |
|
Do my course objectives bring out issues of diversity relevant to the topic? |
In a land use course, consider the variety of people who use different sites. |
|
Does the use of practical examples draw on the everyday lived experiences of my students? |
Use the experiences of students as young people who use and move about the city to explore current urban issues. For example, do they feel that they 'belong' in the city or are they marginalised? In relation to what activities and services? When teaching about safety and planning, get students to conduct a hands-on safety audit of their local area or university campus. Use experiences of overseas students to share with the class how their home cities and planning systems operate. Use these different ideas to generate discussion. In a class examining sustainability issues, use student experiences of resource use, recycling and garbage disposal. How can these practices be changed to conserve resources? |
|
Does my course material minimize bias and stereotyping? (Hutchison et al, 1997: 13) |
Make explicit the exclusionary assumptions in planning examples. For example, what assumptions are made in housing and neighbourhood planning/design about family structure? What assumptions are made about physical access in transport interchange and bus station design? |
|
Does my course make students aware of the assumptions that underpin planning? |
In a history class, discuss the way cities have been traditionally designed for white, middle-class Anglo Saxon men who drive cars (see Short, 1989). Discuss the contributions of both women and men in the history of planning (see Sandercock, 1998). In a land use class, get students to discuss/analyse the different assumptions behind land use and zonings. |
|
How does my course fit into the overall planning curriculum? |
Examine the ways in which the planning curriculum sequentially builds students' capacities in understanding and articulating the issues of diversity. |
Course Outline:
Language
|
Key Concerns |
Strategies,
Suggestions and Tools |
|
Do I use appropriate English in the classroom? |
Be aware of using technical abbreviations, slang and colloquialisms. Explain unfamiliar terminology. For example, what DOES this mean! 'In the LEP, SEPP 5 has precedence over the DCP objectives and will not be politically palatable to the Libs'. Lecturer to overseas student: 'See me in the arvo'. Student has no idea where the 'arvo' is. |
|
Are the images, language, and problem contexts in the materials I use inclusive? (Lewis, 2001) |
Use both international and domestic city images. Use images that have both women and men, as well as culturally diverse groups, interacting with the built environment. Use images that contain children and the elderly. Be explicit about images that are not inclusive and why. This is a good discussion starter. In a development process or urban design course, incorporate both western and eastern design principles/philosophies (eg feng shui). |
|
Do I speak clearly and audibly in the classroom? |
Be aware that there may be students who have a hearing impairment. Be conscious of students whose first language is not English. You may need to slow down if there are problems of understanding. |
Course Outline:
Assessment Modes
|
Key Concerns |
Strategies,
Suggestions and Tools |
|
Does my course assessment allow students to show different abilities across individual skills and knowledge? |
Encourage students to draw on their own everyday experiences in responding to assignments. For example, ask students to analyse their personal transportation experiences - how easy/difficult it is to use public transport, cycle ways, parking. Set students the task of auditing their personal/household's use of non-renewable resources. How could their use be more environmentally responsible? Use this as an entrée to discussing environmental sustainability. |
|
Do I have a variety of assessment modes that takes into account a diversity of abilities and strengths amongst students? |
Include different assessments that involve different tasks including individual work, written essays/ reports, small group work, exams, oral presentations, reflective journals, visual portfolios. |
|
Key Concerns |
Strategies, Suggestions and Tools |
|
Does my course use a variety of teaching methods? |
Consider use of different
techniques: lectures and guest lectures; team teaching; small group
discussions and reporting back; audio-visual materials; e-learning formats; seminars and workshops; specific exercises and simulation games;
field trips; internships; individual research; distance education; tutorials;
role plays; studio exercises. |
|
Does my course incorporate opportunities for experiential learning? |
Teaching safety in the city, design a safety audit for student participation and/or work with a local community on its safety audit. Teaching about transportation and accessibility, hire wheelchairs, walking sticks, crutches, visibility reduction glasses, ear plugs, strollers, and prams for students to use in the field. Get them to record their experiences (both physical and emotional). Teaching about cultural diversity, take students on a field visit to different places of worship (eg. Mosques, temples, churches), community centres, retail areas; sample different ethnic foods. Organise a multicultural students' food fair. Teaching land use planning, get students to produce a land use plan of a local area they are studying; organise site visits to areas where land uses are changing eg. Gentrification, reuse of old industrial sites. Organise visits to land and environment courts, government departments, local councils, libraries, major public institutions (eg. Hospitals, nursing homes, kindergartens), shopping mall, major railway stations, building sites. |
|
Do I encourage students to develop skills where they have particular weaknesses? |
Work with specialist learning centres in the university to improve students' written expression and oral presentation skills. Ask students to nominate areas in which they would like to have further training. |
|
Does my course take advantage of current events? |
Seek out current exhibitions, films, museum/ library displays, talk fests and other contemporary events. |
CONCLUSION
Feedback
This presentation is a beginning. We would greatly appreciate feedback on the guidelines, particularly from the following perspectives:
These guidelines form a practical framework for planning educators to begin to develop an inclusive pedagogy and curriculum. But difficult issues remain in the real world of the classroom and university. For example, what do we do when we have a student or colleague eg Christian fundamentalist or Muslim fundamentalist, who is vehemently opposed to ideas of inclusivity? How do we cope with diminishing resources and greater demands for higher levels of productivity?
Where to from here?
These guidelines are only useful to planning educators if they can be incorporated into regular practice and ways of thinking about teaching and learning. This will take both time and commitment from within and outside the academy. Accordingly, we are proposing to seek support from RAPI to further develop these guidelines to production, as well as assisting in guideline dissemination and feedback. This will ensure that contemporary planning education is at the cutting edge of inclusive practice and that academics are adequately skilled in this vitally important area.
REFERENCES
Allison, JP, Austin, P, Kwitko, L, Leavitt,
J and Thompson, S (1997) 'Gender and Diversity in the Planning Curriculum and
Practice' ANZAPS Proceedings,
University of Auckland, Auckland.
Hutchison, K, Morrigan, L and Mappin, M (1997) Inclusive Curriculum: Information and Resources Guide. Department
of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Victoria University of
Technology: Victoria.
Kwitko, L and Thompson S (in press) 'Issues of
difference and diversity in planning education: a reflection on current
Australian and New Zealand practice'. Australian
Planner.
Kwitko,
L and Thompson, S (2000) 'Issues of
difference and diversity in planning education: a survey of current Australian
and New Zealand practice', in J Rosier & V Forgie Eds Proceedings of the 2000 Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand
Planning Schools, Massey University: Palmerston North, New Zealand:
150-162.
Kwitko, L and Thompson, S (1998) 'Diversity awareness and the planning
curriculum: Time to take stock', Presentation
to ANZAPS, July 1998, University
of Queensland: Brisbane.
Lewis, Sue (2001) 'Auditing the Curriculum for
Inclusivity and Diversity', National Centre for Gender and Cultural Diversity,
Swinburne University of Technology.
Moxham, S and Roberts, P (1995) Gender in the Engineering Curriculum.
Equal Opportunity Unit, University of Melbourne, University of Ballarat,
Swinburne University of Technology: Victoria.
Short, J (1989) The Humane City:
Cities as if people matter, Basil Blackwell: Oxford.