Higher education inclusion and its dimensions: A theoretical proposal

Abstract

According to UNESCO in their 2009 World Conference on Higher Education the focus of future educational policies should be on improving access and equity in higher education, recognizing the importance of continuous work towards the inclusion of diversity and ensure growing opportunities for minority groups. This article presents a theoretical and empirical review of educational and social inclusion in Higher Education. It defines and analyzes five dimensions which have been the most commonly studied in tertiary education institutions as they represent the minority groups which are mostly observed in educational settings, as described by literature. The dimensions included are sex-gender, ethnic minorities, religion, disability and vulnerability, whilst taking into consideration how these dimensions interact and influence the educational experiences of students in Tertiary Education. It reviews research done on policies, access and experiences of inclusion and discrimination of these dimensions, and the importance of having diverse groups of students in the classroom.

Formación clínica en carreras de la salud: ¿dónde se incluye la diversidad?

“…Dicho de otro modo, la inclusión educativa es una cuestión importante a tener en cuenta por las universidades, particularmente en el proceso formativo clínico, donde es posible observar distintas dimensiones de diversidad asociadas a la vulnerabilidad social, la inmigración, la discapacidad, la orientación sexual y la religión del usuario 19 , como también la diversidad de experiencias y trayectorias de profesionales y alumnos.…”

Inclusion at universities: Psychometric properties of an inclusive management scale as perceived by students

“…human being related to vulnerability, economic and/or cultural disadvantage, ethnic diversity, disabled situations, religion, sex, gender and sexuality [2,17,19].…”

“…Specifically, at the university education level, it is recommended to use fast application methodologies, valid and trustworthy, to assess inclusive environments and enquire how well is the inclusion understood by the main agents of the educational community: direction, teachers and students [48,55]. This taking into account that it is still necessary to consolidate policies that promote inclusion and value persons' diversity at this educational level [17].…”

“…Therefore, all persons and all forms of diversity are considered for this process, including, although not limited to, gender, sexual orientation, inter-cultural, disabled condition, socioeconomic, religion, etc. [2,17,19].…”

“…However, diversity must be considered from multiple perspectives and not only the condition of disability; it is necessary to pay attention to the cultural, ideological, religious, racial and political spheres [16]. Indeed, currently, those studies that deal with the field of disability declare an evolution of their conceptual paradigms, from "disability policies" to "inclusion policies" [17,18]. This is also shown in various guidelines of entities such as UNESCO and OECD [18], that seek to advocate the elimination of excluding procedures, shown as specific attitudes and answers towards diversity and to certain dimensions of the…”