Cross-Pollinating Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and Universal Design for Learning: Toward an Inclusive Pedagogy That Accounts for Dis/Ability

Abstract

In this article, Federico R. Waitoller and Kathleen A. King Thorius extend recent discussions on culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) in order to explicitly account for student dis/ability. The authors engage in this work as part of an inclusive education agenda. Toward this aim, they discuss how CSP and universal design for learning will benefit from cross-pollination and then conclude by suggesting interdisciplinary dialogue as a means to building emancipatory pedagogies that attend to intersecting markers of difference (e.g., dis/ability, class, gender, race, language, and ethnicity).

Integrating Universal Design, Culturally Sustaining Practices, and Constructivism to Advance Inclusive Pedagogy in the Undergraduate Classroom

“…The integration of universal design and culturally sustaining practices with constructivist approaches to teaching and learning has vast potential to advance inclusive pedagogy. We agree with Waitoller and Thorius' [4] assertion that culturally sustaining pedagogy can broaden and deepen conversations about inclusion and access within universal design. Moreover, constructivist approaches to teaching and learning provide educators with a broad avenue for integrating theory and practice in the classroom.…”

“…Beyond a focus on the physical classroom and curriculum, these paradigms of teaching and learning require instructors to examine their basic pedagogical frameworks through the lens of accessibility for all students in the classroom. However, recent critiques of these paradigms highlight that in their inception neither UDI nor UID recognized diversity beyond disabilities [3][4][5][6].…”

“…Universal instructional design and UDI have advanced the field in this area and inclusive pedagogy can further extend the work. While inclusive pedagogy has utilized a broad definition of inclusion, the literature has focused predominantly on the inclusion of those with disabilities, and it has only recently been suggested that a truly inclusive pedagogy should explicitly include age, gender, racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity as well [4].…”

“…Waitoller and Thorius [4] call for cross-pollinating universal design with culturally sustaining pedagogy to broaden the scope of inclusion and the ability of inclusive pedagogy to address intersecting identities, including intersections of race and disability. Like universal design, culturally sustaining pedagogy challenges the assumption that there is a "normal" or "average" student.…”

“…In contrast to a deficit orientation, these perspectives are asset based. Furthermore, culturally sustaining pedagogy assumes that all students have cultural practices that are valuable in a learning context [4].…”