Using UDL in Graduate Programs in Education to Erode Pedagogical Tension and Contradictions

Abstract

Faculties of education should be at the forefront of universal design for learning (UDL) implementation since their focus systematically includes effective, student-centered, inclusive pedagogy. This is unfortunately not the case. The chapter reviews some of the tension which is often observed around the lack of accessible and inclusive practices in graduate education within faculties of education. The chapter then explores and analyzes the data collected by the author in relation to the implementation of UDL in graduate courses in a faculty of education on a Canadian campus. The last section of the chapter takes a wider perspective and examines some of the opportunities and challenges, which are encountered in the implementation of UDL in graduate education more generally, and offers hands-on solutions. It is hoped the chapter will act as a road map for wider UDL implementation within graduate and post-graduate courses and debunk some of the myths that are perpetuated in this regard.