Applying cultural-historical activity theory to understand the development of inclusive curriculum practices in higher education

One year after the implementation of an Inclusive Curriculum Capacity Building (ICCB) project in an Australian university Arts faculty, this paper revisits the curriculum, teaching staff and student outcomes, exploring what it takes to achieve lasting change. There are positive findings to report, b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational Journal of Inclusive Education Vol. 24; no. 8; pp. 882 - 900
Main Authors Dracup, M., Austin, J. E., King, T. J.
Format Journal Article Book Review
LanguageEnglish
Published London Routledge 02.07.2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Academic achievement
access and equity
Access to Education
Activity theory
Capacity Building
College Faculty
Curricula
Curriculum Development
Curriculum Evaluation
curriculum intervention
Diversity
Educational Change
Evaluation Methods
Foreign Countries
Grass roots movement
HEPPP
Higher Education
Humanities
Inclusion
inclusive curriculum
Intervention
Social Theories
Teaching
Australia
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Summary:One year after the implementation of an Inclusive Curriculum Capacity Building (ICCB) project in an Australian university Arts faculty, this paper revisits the curriculum, teaching staff and student outcomes, exploring what it takes to achieve lasting change. There are positive findings to report, but the study also finds that lasting change in curriculum development practices requires more than a 'grassroots' approach. The authors undertook a formative, collaborative intervention informed by principles of cultural-historical activity theory to help bring about changes to these practices. In revisiting the key players and curriculum after a year, our question was: to what extent had culturally new patterns of activity emerged to sustain the ongoing development of more inclusive curricula in the faculty? We apply an activity theory lens to help identify contradictions and discontinuities that could become possibilities for ongoing change and the foundations for expansive learning in this context.
ISSN:1360-3116
1464-5173
DOI:10.1080/13603116.2018.1492638