The beauty of universal design for learning (UDL) and why everyone in early childhood education and intervention should be using it

Abstract

This article seeks to highlight the importance of consciously implementing universal design for learning principles in practice in early childhood intervention. Universal design for learning (UDL) is based on three principles: 1) providing multiple means of engagement, 2) providing multiple means of representation, and 3) providing multiple means of action and expression. The term UDL is being championed in New Zealand schools but there are few examples of how early childhood settings and early childhood kaiako can utilise it. Highlighting the three UDL principles and how they link with Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, is important when supporting kaiako and early interventionists to reflect on their practice through the UDL lens. When kaiako and early interventionists focus on providing multiple ways of engaging children, multiple ways of representing information, and multiple ways of enabling action and expression, then the early childhood environments will truly be inclusive. This article outlines the three UDL principles and provides specific examples of enactment of these in early childhood environments.