Universal Design for Learning

IDEA prides itself as a pioneer in research on and the implementation of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), particularly in the Low- to Middle-income (LMIC) contexts of Africa.

UDL is an approach to the curriculum that benefits all learners by planning for diversity from the onset. In UDL, the learning environment and curriculum is designed to meet the needs of the widest range of learners. The approach requires planning upfront rather than retrofitting. The teacher thinks about access from the start and not as an add on. The goal is to meet a wider range of learning needs from the start.

At IDEA, we have been central in the introduction and adoption of UDL in South Africa, Tanzania, and other parts of Africa. We adopt a critical approach to UDL, acknowledging that the approach can:

• Provide all teachers and students with a framework for curriculum adaptation that promotes flexibility in the regular classroom operation.

• Support a paradigm shift from traditional education systems to inclusive education systems where students learn to learn rather than engage in memorization.
• Empower teachers and learners to choose their own learning pathways.

Although we acknowledge that UDL reduces the need for most individualized supports by improving learning for all and not reducing the need to ask for supports, we also appreciate that some children, especially those with complex and/or severe impairments, will always require reasonable accommodations to be able to participate in education on an equal basis with others. We list some of the projects on UDL that we have conducted.

Projects on UDL conducted by IDEA

• Reviewed the implementation of UDL in Low- to middle income countries. This entailed a review of literature on UDL from LMICs, a review of open educational resources (OERs) on UDL and their relevance to the LMIC setting, and Online interviews with representatives of international agencies, NGOs and UDL experts who have experience in providing inclusive-education services in LMICs. The report is available here
• Conducted UDL training for a Non-Governmental Organization senior staff, education managers and teachers under the Inclusive Futures project in Tanzania. The goal of the training was to improve the lives of children with disabilities in Tanzania by ensuring accessible learning and education is available for all children.
• Developed Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) based on UDL. These courses are offered for free by Coursera. See for example this course segment TEDI 1 Week 5 - What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL) (uct.ac.za) sourced from https://www.coursera.org/learn/disability-inclusion-education.
• Redesigning blended courses (Postgraduate Diploma in Disability Studies and Disability Studies short-course) based on the UDL framework, in collaboration with Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at University of Cape Town.  The Redesigning Blended Courses Project aims to assist the Teaching and Learning community at UCT to develop learning pathways that effectively integrate on-campus and online modes (Blended Learning).  The promotion of inclusive digitally-enabled education through the redesign of blended courses project is a UCT Project supported by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) through University Capacity Development Grants (2021-2023).
  • Conducting critical research on UDL. Examples of papers published are:
  • Universal Design for Learning: Not another slogan on the street of inclusive education;
  • Inclusion, universal design and universal design for learning in higher education: South Africa and the United States;
  • Universal design for learning in inclusive education policy in South Africa;
  • The implementation of inclusive education in South Africa: Reflections arising from a workshop for teachers and therapists to introduce Universal Design for Learning