How Can an Educational Institution be More Equitable and Inclusive?

An equitable education system is a great leveler. It provides all students with the necessary knowledge and skills and equips them to become productive members of society. It is the responsibility of every educational institution to ensure an equitable environment for all students irrespective of social class, background, gender, or all other factors.

If you are endeavoring to make your educational institution equitable and inclusive for every student, here are eight tips that will help you achieve the goal.

1.Leverage technology

Technology is a great leveler. Using it, educational institutions can make their system more equitable and inclusive. From admissions to online exams to remote learning, they can use education management systems and other sophisticated tools to create equity among students. Tools like education management systems have revolutionized how institutes used to operate. Using it, students from the remotest corners of the world can apply and get admissions to their favorite institutions. It is also helping educators and students access high-quality educational content from across the globe for free.

2.Promote equity in the classroom

Administrators and educators need to establish an inclusive environment where students of diverse backgrounds can study together. They need to ensure that every student has the support and resources to succeed. Here are some ways teachers can promote equity in the classroom:

• Providing study materials and necessary support to all students equitably
• Asking questions to every student equitably
• Seek different answers and multiple viewpoints to questions
• Acknowledge response or comment of every student
• Use more than one ways to assess student understanding
• Make classroom rules mutually and implement them impartially
• Reduce gender or race barriers in the classroom
• Build an inclusive environment in the class and encourage all students to take part in classroom activities

3.Use a variety of learning styles

To make the educational system more inclusive and equitable, educational institutions must make their teacher pool more diverse. One of the best ways to do this is to invite applications from several regions. Expand online hiring efforts and interview job candidates from diverse backgrounds. Look at the talents and capabilities of the aspiring educators than any other factors. Aim to achieve gender balance in leadership, administrative, and decision-making roles.

4.Use a variety of learning styles

Some children may have different abilities and needs compared to others. Some may learn better with visuals and images, while some may learn by listening to the lectures and taking notes. Educators should use a variety of learning styles to make their lessons more equitable for different students. There are four types of learning styles, which are:

1. Visual: In this style, students learn by observing pictures, images, colors, graphics, maps, and other visual aids.
2. Auditory: In this, students learn by listening to lessons and instructions.
3. Kinesthetic: In this style, students learn lessons by touching and getting their hands on the learning materials.
4. Reading and writing: In this style, students learn by reading the study materials and writing the concepts and theories.

5.Encourage students to embrace their uniqueness

Every student is unique and special in their own way. The job of the educator is to empower and enable the students to embrace and celebrate their uniqueness. Stimulate their curiosity and encourage them to ask more questions and find out different solutions. Encourage them to try new things in academic as well as co-curricular activities. Help them find out their passion and achieve their full potential.

6.Enable students to adapt to the future of work

The world is changing at a much faster rate than one can think. New technologies are coming up every day making the older ones obsolete. The jobs that are most sought after today may no longer exist after a few years. Taking this into consideration, prepare all students to adapt to the future workspace and hone their talents. Here are a few steps to help students prepare for the future:

• Personalize learning for different students 
• Remain abreast with the trends and know what technologies will shape the future
• Teach critical and complex thinking skills
• Help students learn new technology and tools
• Provide opportunities to students to be creative and innovative
• Encourage teamwork and facilitate communication between them
• Inspire students to think out of the box

7.Enable students to adapt to the future of work

Many educational institutions consider education as a profitable business but they don’t add value to the life of their students. The only way to stop education from becoming a business is to make students’ education a priority. It’s crucial to provide them with excellent value and ensure that they learn everything they need to become respectable professionals and human beings.

8.Treat each parent as an equal partner and stakeholder

The problem with most educational institutions is that they treat an average parent as a customer but not as an equal partner and a prominent stakeholder. This results in exploitation. When parents don’t get the basic amenities they deserve from an educational institution, they lose trust. On the other hand, some parents get special treatment because of their position and social status. This leads to inequity and discrimination. To build an equitable educational institution, it is crucial to treat every parent as a partner and stakeholder.

Summing up,

As equitable education becomes the need of the hour, many educational institutions are using a mix of strategies to develop an inclusive environment.

At MyEdu, our educational management system has enabled many schools, colleges, and universities to leverage technology and provide excellent solutions to teachers, students, and parents. If you want to know more about our education management system, Request a free demo today with our team.