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How is Kaplan making its curriculum more inclusive?

What are your reasons for wanting to study abroad? What would make you choose Kaplan Pathways? Is it the opportunity to study with students from all over the world and receive a global education? Do you like that the Kaplan Pathways curriculum promotes an inclusive, diverse education?

Whatever your reason, when you choose to study abroad with Kaplan, you’ll be making the right decision. That’s because we put students at the heart of our curriculum.

Over the years, many educational courses across the world have been informed by the perspectives of a small group of people. At Kaplan, we’re trying to change that. We are working on a project to make Equity, Diversity and Inclusion a key feature of the curriculum at our UK colleges, so that our students feel represented.

Let’s look at how we are making our curriculum more inclusive.

What do we mean by Equity, Diversity and Inclusion?

Firstly, you may well have heard people talking about Equality or Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion before, but what do these words mean when we are talking about education?

Equality: This means that every student gets the same resources and support to be successful in their studies.

Equity: Each student gets what they individually need to succeed. This does not necessarily mean that students all receive the same things.

Diversity: The curriculum is rich and varied and reflects people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, sexualities, and genders.

Inclusion: Everyone is included so all students can learn and participate together.

The image below shows the difference between equality and equity. Here at Kaplan Pathways, we are striving for equity. We want to give students individual and personalised learning opportunities, and speak to their unique needs.

Kaplan inclusion
Equality and Equity | Maryam Abdul-Kareem | anchor.org.uk

Why are we making our curriculum more inclusive?

Consequently, we have a group of education experts working on a project to make our programmes inclusive. They are reviewing the current curriculum at our UK colleges to make sure it covers topics including race and ethnicity, disability, gender and sexuality. It’s important to us to listen to all voices and represent them in your learning materials.

We believe that by doing this you will receive an education which:

  • includes a global outlook on topics, discussions, and research, as well as a respect for facts and self-reflection
  • ensures you are prepared for diverse environments at university and beyond
  • develops your critical thinking skills.

What does an inclusive curriculum look like in the classroom?

Everyone who studies or works at Kaplan has the right to a safe and open environment where inclusion and diversity are respected and practised.

We want to provide our global student community with a rich curriculum which speaks both personally to them but also represents and explains the theories, histories, and experiences of multiple people with different perspectives.

For example, you will see Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the:

  • physical and virtual materials you use with your teachers and peers inside and outside your college learning spaces
  • fulfilling relationships you have with other students, your tutors, and the Student Services team, who support you during your studies.

Study with us and get involved

We believe that to make a curriculum truly diverse and inclusive, we need to involve students in the process. By listening to your opinions on what you want to see in the curriculum and ensuring your voice is heard, we can create a curriculum that reflects our students.

If you choose to study with us, then remember to look out for opportunities to get involved when you are at your college. This could be in the form of providing feedback on modules and programmes, joining focus groups, or collaborating on projects.

Ultimately, we want to hear from you, and we want your help in making our curriculum more inclusive!

Emma Hillman is a Project Manager at the Centre for Learning Innovation and Quality (CLIQ). She is part of a team of experts working to continually develop Kaplan Pathways’ curriculum, and is leading the Embedding Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Curriculum project.

Emma Hillman

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