Introduction

Providing inclusive experiences for all our students is central to Sheffield Hallam University’s strategic goal to 'Transform Lives' and demonstrating our 'Hallam Values'.

As an institution, we are proud of and recognise the diversity of our student body. In our undergraduate home student population alone over 74% of students would be identified as being from an under-represented group and may experience barriers to learning (Office for Students, #ClosingTheGap Report 2019). Given this diversity, there is a need to implement inclusive practices which are supported by research evidence. 

#DecolHallam supports the delivery of the University Strategy, the impact of the Access and Participation Plans and aims to specifically contribute to the eradication of the Degree Awarding Gap. In addition, it will contribute towards the successful implementation of the Hallam Model Inclusive Prompts. These have been devised to support course design teams to align the Hallam Model principles with those of an inclusive curriculum.

The#DecolHallam 2022project centres the experiences of ethnically minoritised students from across the University. The project aims to measure the cultural sensitivity and accessibility of our curricula. This information will then be used to support staff to implement curriculum interventions so students from ethnically minoritised groups have equitable opportunities for success. The project seeks to identify those aspects of curricula which are key to students developing a sense of belonging and engagement with their learning and improving their experience and outcomes.

The #DecolHallam 2022 project consisted of a team of seven student researchers, Academic Development and Diversity and Library staff, and representatives from the Student Union. The team undertook the following project activities:

1. A pilot study, with the Students Union and the Library working in partnership to decolonise online reading lists.
2. An evaluation of course materials from the virtual learning environment ‘Blackboard’ for their accessibility and inclusivity.
3. The deployment of the national NERUPI Culturally Sensitive Curriculum Scales (CSCS) survey - a race-focused instrument developed to assess the ‘whiteness’ of the curriculum as a basis for further inquiry. The survey has a specific focus on Health and Social Science subject areas.
4. Department-based focus groups led by student researchers to understand the lived experience across the student lifecycle.

Take a look at our #DecolHallam Project Report and #DecolHallam Webinar – Presentation findings (19 & 23 May 2023).

Decolonising Reading Lists

This pilot study found that of the 50 publications identified on the reading list:

• the bulk of the authors were White and were published in either in Northern Europe or Northern America.

• The majority of the authors were male 58%, with 14% being authored by a mixture of males and females and 28% by females only.

In terms of the accessibility of the reading materials:

• 50% of the books on the reading list could be accessed in both print and online.

• 22% online only and 28% as printed books.

The study also identified that a higher number of the items on the list were published over twenty years ago. The student researcher considered that many of the books and articles, given their date of publication, would not be relevant to the values, ethics, and anti-oppressive practices expected in contemporary social work practice.

The student researcher concluded that the reading list showed a prevailing dominance of the western centric worldviews, written by White male authors.

Take a look at the Decolonising Reading Lists – Social Work Report (2022) and Decolonising Reading Lists (What We Did) - Emma Finney (Library Services)

Start the process of decolonising reading lists by encouraging module teams to reflect on their existing reading lists online (RLO) and consider adding references by non-European/north American authors, female authors, and those from the global majority. Use the decolonisation guide to diversity the reading lists. As part of the implementation of the new curriculum structures and portfolio, as the modules are developed, module teams should consider the diversity of the authorship of reading lists and, as appropriate, draw on texts from around the globe.

Specific recommendations from this pilot were as follows:

• Use OpenSyllabus to explore the texts that are used on similar courses from around the world.
• Use Scopus as a tool to discover materials that originate from specific regions or countries. 
• Use the Journals Online Project to increase the visibility, accessibility, and quality of peer reviewed journals published in developing countries.
• Use a wider variety of media sources which are often more inclusive of emerging voices. This can include blogs, websites, YouTube, TED talks, TV and radio content, films, journals, and magazines. This will help promote cultural competency.
• In certain subjects, consider replacing resources that are published over ten years ago.
• Have teaching staff from diverse backgrounds consider and contribute to the development of module reading lists.
• Engage with students from diverse backgrounds on the courses or in the department to gain their feedback and suggestions on the resources they would like to see on their reading lists.

A decolonisation reading list resource is on the Curated Reading List page on Library Online. There is also a decolonisation guide that is part of the Reading List guide for staff.

Accessible and Inclusive Teaching and Learning Materials

This evaluation focused on the accessibility and inclusivity of teaching and learning materials on Blackboard. The objective was to establish which elements of good practice used to make teaching and learning materials inclusive and accessible were being systematically applied. 

A random sample of module Blackboard sites from six participating Departments was used in the study. The sample contained 97 module sites and each site was investigated by trained student researchers using an inclusivity and accessibility check list. The work focused on Word documents, PDFs and PowerPoints contained in the teaching and learning folders of the sites.

The work stream identified a need:

• to improve the use of alt-text with embedded images, charts etc.
• of using meaningful words with hyperlinks.
• to use the setting of header rows in tables in word documents and PowerPoint slide decks. ‘Styles’ also needs to be used in word documents, as whilst Heading are being used to structure documents, without the use of ‘styles’ it is difficult for someone using a screen reader to follow the structure and navigate through the document.
• to use adequately sized fonts for Word doc and PowerPoints needs to be emphasised (dyslexia friendly font sizes are a minimum of 12pt for word documents and 18pt for PowerPoints).
• of using line spacing greater than one and text should not be justified. Justifying text results in uneven spaces between words and letters, making the text difficult for some people to read. Line spacing greater than one also improves readability for these groups and we would argue everyone. Ensuring all PDFs are searchable and tagged would improve the accessibility of these documents.

This approach to randomly sampling materials from Blackboard sites, whilst labour intensive, provides a better illustration of the accessibility and inclusivity of materials than Blackboard Ally. It also shows that whilst Blackboard Ally can provide a useful indication to the accessibility of teaching and learning material, the algorithms used are not able to detect all accessibility issues. For example, if text has been snipped from another source and embedded into a PowerPoint slide as an image, a screen reader will not be able to read the text.

Take a look at our How Inclusive are Blackboard Sites presentation.

Departments should ensure all new staff engage with the ‘Introduction to Digital Accessibility’ mandatory module on their Blackboard - Organisation – HROD People Development site. The module provides an insight into the barriers caused by poor accessibility and a framework to help apply best practice. All staff should be encouraged to use the Guidelines for Inclusive and Accessible Materials when reflecting on their existing teaching and learning materials. Departments should place an emphasis on implementing these guidelines when developing teaching and learning materials as the new curriculum structures and portfolio is implemented. Emphasis should be placed on ensuring ‘styles’ is used in word documents, ‘alt text’ is issued for images, header rows used in tables in tables, meaningful words are used for hyperlinks and appropriate font sizes, styles and line spacing are used to make materials accessible and inclusive.

Culturally Sensitive Curriculum Scales (CSCS)

The Culturally Sensitive Curricula Scales (CSCS) questionnaire is a race-focused instrument developed to assess the ‘whiteness’ of the curriculum as a basis for further inquiry. Thomas and Quinlan (2021) developed and validated the CSCS for students to rate the culturally sensitive nature of their curricula. Sheffield Hallam was part of a national project using the survey focusing initially on Health and Social Science subject areas.

The research investigated relationships between the CSCS and three main outcomes: students’ interest in their subject, their relationships with teachers, and their satisfaction with teaching.

The pilot found that racially minoritised students rated their curricula as less culturally sensitive than their white peers. Black African, Caribbean and Black British students tended to rate the curriculum as less culturally sensitive than Asian and Asian British students, particularly on positive depictions and negative portrayals of people of colour in the curriculum. The findings show that racially minoritised students, particularly Black students perceive their curriculum differently from White students. They may feel excluded, marginalised or ignored as a result. This was true across universities and courses, suggesting it is a widespread problem. As educators, we need to improve the cultural sensitivity of our curriculum to ensure it is inclusive for all our students. 

Students also rated their interest in and satisfaction with their course. The research found that, regardless of the ethnicity of the student, culturally sensitive curricula were associated with higher interest in the course. Suggesting that culturally sensitive curricula are likely to benefit all students, not just racially minoritised students.

Racially minoritised students were less satisfied with their courses. Students’ scores on the cultural sensitivity of the curriculum may help to explain the gaps in satisfaction between racially minoritised and White students.

Take a look a the Culturally Sensitive Curricula Scales (CSCS) - NURUPI Executive Summary(September 2022).

The University’s Inclusive Curriculum Principles are being embedded as courses are designed and validated. These principles, focusing on ensuring diversity is being explored and is visible in the curriculum content and an integral to the pedagogic practices used by teaching teams will support improvements in the cultural sensitivity of our courses. Module and course teams, departments or colleges can explore the cultural sensitivity of their courses using the Culturally Sensitive Curriculum Scales (CSCS) questionnaire. The questionnaire can be used to explore the impact of changes to the curriculum by using the survey before and after the implementation of change. Alternatively, the questionnaire could be used to identify areas for development as part of an enhancement process, e.g., as part of the Course Improvement Plan (CIP) process. For further information on using the Culturally Sensitive Curriculum Scales (CSCS) questionnaire contact the ADI team.

Minoritised Students' View of Belonging

This work stream involved discussions with racially minoritised students in focus groups. The students were from 8 departments and 11 focus groups were held. The focus groups were led by a member of the Academic Development and Diversity (AD&D) team and one or more student researchers (SRs). The student researchers summarised discussions and created summary reports on the two themes, these were subsequently compiled by the AD&D lead and the AD&D graduate intern.

Students indicated that they would welcome opportunities to get to know each other, to have more ways to connect with their peers to alleviate any lack of understanding or familiarity or even fear. They suggested that improvements could be made by increasing the diversity of student cohorts. This would have the potential to reduce the sense of otherness, believing themselves an outsider, and feelings of isolation and loneliness.

They would like a focus on making sure student names are pronounced correctly by both peers and tutors. They also suggested that moving aspects of the curriculum away from being solely White, western/euro-centric in nature, preparing them to think more globally and develop the skills needed to work in international contexts would be beneficial.

Students also indicated that they would welcome staff and peers to have an increased awareness and understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) issues and how they impact on minoritised students. Students talk about feeling that they could not talk to staff about diversity related issues as they perceive many would not understand. They thought it would be beneficial if both staff and peers engaged in formal activities to raise awareness of EDI to create a more welcoming environment.

Course teams need to provide opportunities for students to get to know each other. Encourage teaching teams to ensure they know their students’ names and the names are pronounced correctly by both peers and tutors. Visit our Say My Name resources for further guidance.

Work to ensure aspects of the curriculum are moved away from being solely White, western/euro-centric in nature. Use the curriculum to prepare all students to think more globally and develop the skills needed to work in international contexts.

Encourage staff to develop their awareness and understanding of EDI issues and how they impact on minoritised students through engagement with CPD activities. Identify opportunities in the curriculum for all students to develop their literacy in respect of EDI. In addition to harassment, abuse or hate incidents, raise the profile of the impact micro-aggressive behaviours have on individuals and encourage the use of the University’s Report and Support process and take action against those perpetrating them – on campus and on placement.

International Students' Transition

This work stream involved discussions with international students in focus groups. Twenty-one students (from the Department of Management) took part in 8 focus groups. The focus groups were led by a member of the Academic Development and Inclusion (ADI) team and one or more student researchers (SRs). The student researchers summarised discussions and created summary reports on the two themes, these were subsequently compiled by the ADI lead and the ADI graduate intern. 

In summary, transitioning into the SHU academic experience is not a simple process for most international student. In addition to the socio-cultural integration associated with moving to the 

UK and the associated linguistic challenges, students need to adjust to our academic expectations of them and some students have to upskill in a very short period of time. Our international students need to understand and adjust to the systems and process, and pedagogic difference between SHU and their previous institution and the level of study. They will experience different levels of acculturative stress depending on the similarity of these academic systems and practices. Teaching teams need to be cognisant of the learning curve students experience, especially during the early part of their courses, and provide students with support and resources to help them navigate their transition into UK post-graduate study and the expectations staff have of them. A more detailed summary of the findings a given in the attached project report (TBC).

There are a number of recommendations to support international students as they navigate the academic transition from their previous ‘home’ educational experiences to that on their SHU course as an international student. We need to remind ourselves of huge the social, academic and linguistic acculturation stress our international students experience as they transition into their SHU courses. Make opportunities in face-to-face classes for students to get to know each other and develop peer learning networks as the progress through the course.

Students need re-reminding of things covered in induction as the course progresses with signposting to the support available. Where possible, provide materials and resources (e.g., lecture recordings) to support students as they develop their linguistic capabilities. Do not assume all international students’ experiences of virtual learning environments are comparable and provide support and signposting to resources for those who need to develop. Adopt a consistent approach to the organisation of Blackboard sites.

Assessment strategies in other countries can be very different from those at SHU, its recommended that students are provided with exemplars of the assessment they will experience so they know what the assessment involves, and the academic standards expected. Signpost students to support for their academic writing, if they have only experienced time constrain assessments, e.g., Exams, they will have little experience of writing extended pieces of work. Be clear about the reading they need to complete, i.e. what they need to do and what supplements their learning. Visit the following resources for further guidance:

Get Support: 

Academic Development and Inclusion can help support you with staff development on a range of teaching topics and how inclusion can be an integral part of your practice.