Embedding Diversity-Responsive Teaching in First-Year Higher Education: A Pilot Training Approach.

Abstract

Research demonstrates that safe and welcoming Higher Education Institutions (HEI) that value student differences are crucial for promoting student success, especially for minoritized, First Generation and/or lower SES students. Teachers are not always aware how their teaching practices either hinders or fosters students’ experiences of safety and inclusion. Or they lack knowledge or confidence on how to install an inclusive learning environment. This paper reports on the design, theoretical framework and key take aways of a pilot training at KU Leuven, designed to equip first-year teaching teams with diversity-responsive pedagogical strategies.

We draw from cumulating scientific evidence that i) psychological processes related to belonging are key for learning (e.g. Korpershoek, 2020); ii) pluralist approaches enhance feelings of belonging and, therefore, achievement (e.g. Bardach, 2024); and iii) education is always rooted in a particular culture’s values and practices, thereby often unconsciously advancing the dominant group (i.e. ethnic majority, middle class) of students’ belonging and performance (e.g. Bourdieu, 1974; De Leersnyder et al., 2025).

The programme consisted of three modules in a blended format, combining in-person workshops with an online platform. The pilot revealed the importance of an explicit targeted approach to socio-cultural diversity and inclusion; identified strengths and pitfalls of peer learning and exchange, flexibility and self-paced learning, and highlighted the challenges of designing classroom-ready strategies