A high-impact professionalization trajectory for UTN (and PXL)-lecturers to promote educational inclusion while respecting ‘cultural identity’.

Summary

With this project we create a high-impact professionalization trajectory for 20 UTN-lecturers and 250 UTN-students (from 5 faculties) to promote educational inclusion in the Imbabura region (Ecuador) for disadvantaged/ethnic-cultural diverse groups. Students perform better and are more academically and socially successful when their cultural identity is acknowledged. Meaningful (Indigenous) inclusion and raising diversity awareness will create a better understanding of the complexities and richness to combat deficit thinking. Moreover, enhancing intercultural competences (IC) of lecturers will create an overall empowerment, systemic and broader societal change. Therefore, to gain more insights regarding IC of involved lecturers and students we will use the Global Mind Monitor (GMM) questionnaire. All actors will be involved in a cultural sensitive (e-)learning environment where they can consult, collaborate and discuss on the developed framework with innovative and inclusive didactical tools (toolkit). Workshops will be included to train UTN-lecturers before developing/co-creating lessons and critical friends (e.g. HE&Sis, community partners and students) provide feedback. By organizing a closing event, at the end of this project, to present our (e)Book (including the pedagogical framework, toolkit, developed lessons and results of the GMM questionnaire) we invite (inter)national partners to share results. Overall, by (re-)designing culturally relevant educational practices, curricula will be innovated and are a response to the current network-based, multicultural societies of the 21st century.

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