Educational practitioners and  students have the chance to develop their diversity and inclusion skills with a new short course developed by Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh.

The online course Disability Confidence for Educational Practitioners will provide educators with the knowledge and confidence to effectively and sensitively discuss disability with their pupils. Participants will also develop a better understanding of how to create an inclusive environment which best supports their young learners.

The new short course is run by QMU lecturers and chartered psychologists, Drs. Siân Jones and Clare Uytman. Both have practical experience of working in inclusive education in both academia and in the classroom, and have also recently launched their own website, Toy Box Diversity Lab, a selection of free resources which aim to help practitioners enhance disability literacy.

Senior Lecturer in the Division of Psychology, Sociology and Education at QMU, Dr Siân Jones, has hemiplegia, a type of cerebral palsy, which means she is disabled.

Siân acknowledges that much has been done in schools to represent ethnicity in recent years, but she wants to support teachers to demonstrate diversity of disability in the classroom.

She said: “Growing up, there were no toys in the toybox or the shops that looked like me. If there isn’t an opportunity to play with disabled characters, or children don’t come across disabled people doing everyday things in books and films, we’re losing an opportunity to broaden the next generation’s understanding of the world and the
people in it.

“Despite efforts to foster inclusion in mainstream settings, there is persistent negativity in interactions between some non-disabled children and their disabled peers. Given the significant implications of this, we have looked for ways to foster meaningful and positive interventions to reduce ableism and discrimination towards disabled children. When disability is portrayed more prominently, particularly in the classroom, our research shows only positive outcomes in children’s wellbeing and acceptance.”

Siân continued: “I think that disability literacy is such an important facet of teaching, and maybe one day, could even be a necessary requirement given its emphasis in the Scottish education curriculum. Our new professional development course will be the perfect accompaniment for those in teaching roles, helping to foster positive environments for disabled learners across the country.”

The Disability Confidence for Educational Practitioners course is entirely online and fully flexible, so participants can complete the course in their own time and at their own pace. It runs from September 2024 for six weeks and costs £150 per person. Applications must be submitted by 22^nd September.

Joint Programme Leader for BSc (Hons) Psychology and Senior Lecturer at QMU, Dr. Clare Uytman, said: “Positive understanding, representation and discussion around disability is so important for achieving a more inclusive learning environment, which will help children understand the importance of these topics from an early age.

“We hope that by the end of this course, participants will be able to engage effectively with students, parents, and colleagues about disability in an empathetic manner, understand the importance of disability positive learning environments that represent diverse abilities, and be able to confidently create and monitor the effectiveness of representative teaching materials.

“It is so rewarding to see years of hard work and thorough research come together with the creation of this highly beneficial course, which we hope will be of real value to the teaching profession.”

Get more course information at Disability Confidence for Educational Practitioners and start building your skills and experience.

View Dr. Clare Uytman and Dr. Sian Jones’ website of free resources, Toy Box Diversity Lab