Bridging Learning and Teaching: Possible Pathways to More Inclusive Education

In this chapter, we start the first three sections by describing one structural disadvantage in learning and teaching, then suggest one possible pathway to bridge learning and teaching. By doing so, we can discuss how to address and even prevent disadvantages. In the final section, we put together different pathways to encourage more inclusive educational spaces. We have summarised three questions which guide us in structuring the chapter:

• How can learning and teaching methods foster cross-cultural understanding and create a more inclusive educational space?
• What challenges arise when bringing diverse perspectives into educational practices?
• How can teachers utilise inquiry-based learning, critical pedagogy and feminist approaches to engage students more meaningfully?

Introduction to Topic

This chapter brings learning and teaching methods together instead of separating them into two processes. Education needs learning, teaching and their interactions to take place. If there are only learning methods, the danger of ‘learnification’ (Biesta, 2009, 2022) is that learning can become empty if educators do not rediscover the gifts of teaching. If there is only teaching without learning, it is also problematic as the teaching becomes a one-person show, which is not showing education as a dialogue between teachers and students.Hence, learning and teaching methods have to come together.

We have no intention of providing an exhaustive list, and we also see the problem of being prescriptive. As an alternative, we provide three heuristic case studies from our different expertise to give examples of what diverse learning and teaching methods can look like and what they can enable. These include inquiry-based learning, critical pedagogy and feminist approaches.

The purpose is to provide alternative pathways to replace the traditional authoritarian model of teaching. We explore education’s liberating potential through transforming learning and teaching methods. These alternatives are more than technical methods which aim for higher scores in assessments. None of them can be developed in one day. They are not magic cures. They take time, but the time you spend with yourself, classmates, colleagues and students on diversifying learning and teaching towards inclusion also brings you a sense of achievement.

We are fully aware that you and we all live in a society where institutional settings and school structures shape learning and teaching practices. By pointing at alternative pathways, we are not denying these, but also remind you, educators and future educators:

You also hold the power to make learning and teaching more just, democratic and inclusive.

What makes you different from artificial intelligence is your subjectivity, which is the key for a human being to develop the transformative potential of learning and teaching methods. You can think for yourself and talk to people, and be empathetic with others. This also creates a space for you to think about your own biases, prejudices and privileges along with the students to learn and unlearn by indulging in an interactional relationship.

In this chapter, we urge the readers to think about the purpose of education and not be limited to within the school. Classrooms and schools do not exist in a vacuum. They coexist with a society which is unequal and riddled with issues of class, religion, gender, caste, etc. When we come together in the classrooms as learners and teachers, we bring along with us differences based on our identities, along with levels of privilege and disadvantage, ways of thinking, perspectives, biases, and opinions. Various aspects of our lives come together. Through this chapter, we propose approaches that can enable teachers to modify their learning and teaching methods accordingly to meet the requirements of the learners and to make the process more engaging and inclusive.

Checking our privileges

In this section, we share personal reflections to illustrate how our identities, privileges, and lived experiences shape the way we view the world and approach our work. Positionality is not static; it evolves over time and across contexts, influenced by the intersecting dimensions of our identities. As an additional resource on positionality and intersectionality, the OpenTextbook Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA), features a video of Kimberlé Crenshaw—who first introduced the concept of intersectionality—that can further enrich your understanding of these dimensions.

As educators and researchers, understanding these dynamics is essential to fostering empathy, equity, and inclusivity in our practices.

Through our stories, we aim to offer a window into how power and marginalisation operate in complex and multifaceted ways. These narratives serve as examples of how privilege and disadvantage can coexist, shift, and intersect in unexpected ways. They also reflect our commitment to ongoing self-reflection as a cornerstone of inclusive education.

We hope that by sharing these accounts, we not only demonstrate the value of examining positionality but also encourage you to reflect on your own. The following examples highlight how our unique journeys have shaped our perspectives and continue to inform our contributions to education and research.

Hermione Miao

When I came to study for my PhD in the United Kingdom, someone shouted at me: “Go back to your country”. Now sometimes when I share my views with people in China, I get criticised for being “too westernised”. I have no choice but to live in this in-betweenness, being considered as outsiders in both scenarios by some people ‘loyal to their traditions’. This was not something I would experience if I stayed where I grew up. I was born and bred in rural China in a Han (major) ethnicity family. Revisiting my encounters made me notice that I was born privileged in one place, but disadvantaged in another, then being dismissed in the first place as I had been to other places. In addition, the more I grew up, I also faced more situations where people told me “Good girls/women should not do this…”. I gradually realised that I was not born but rather became a woman. However, I would also never think like ‘some typical’ feminist, not just due to my other social-economic and cultural backgrounds, but also I chose to recognise these intersectional dimensions. I have significant roles to achieve what I want to see as a feminist.

I am now also more aware of my privilege to study for my PhD with my mother’s financial support. Not every emerging scholar would have the luxury of studying full-time, I am grateful for mine. Back in the 1990s, my parents took the opportunity to start a small business by migrating from a rural village to a mega city in China. I was one in millions of left-behind children in rural areas when their parents migrated to the cities as breadwinners. By then, the household registration system in China allowed internal migration (mostly from rural to urban), but their children could not access these urban state-owned schools. I grew up with my maternal grandparents and later reunited with my parents through studying higher education in the city in which they live. Then I followed my passion to study abroad, trying to find possible routes to make education more inclusive and accessible to all. Over time, the lack of power and privilege in my school days has transformed to motivate me in reducing and ultimately preventing education reproducing social injustices.

Akshita Rawat

In India, I belong to a majorly privileged group. Privileged in class, caste, language, and education but not in gender. Up until my school and also graduation, I was in a more homogenous crowd where I was in the majority as most students were from the upper or middle class, upper caste, English speaking, born in the city, etc. Or at least they were the ones who were “visible”. I did not become aware of my privilege until I was in my post-graduation (university level) where the crowd was heterogeneous with the majority of the students being from various parts of India, villages and cities, lower economic backgrounds, ‘lower’ caste, differently abled and who were from marginalised communities. It was during this time that I was made aware of my privilege, of how deep inequalities still are even in education, and how upper caste people (who are a minority) hold positions of power and have even made educational institutes exclusive spaces. It also made me see that education is a right and even premier and top universities can also be made truly inclusive. However, when I moved to Europe to pursue my PhD, I became disadvantaged in several ways due to my race, ethnicity, and language, and the inequalities are more visible to me than to my peers who are privileged in terms of their race. However, compared to other people in India or even other minorities here, I am still privileged as it is due to my social, cultural and economic capital, which is due to my caste and class, that I am able to pursue a PhD from abroad. I am still privileged but also have several disadvantages in Europe due to being from South Asia.

Brian Lynam

Living in the Netherlands for the past number of years, I have regularly been excluded from conversations in Dutch, due to not speaking the local language. This becomes very apparent in larger groups of people, even though English is very widely spoken and understood. In contrast, in Ireland I am regularly complimented on being multilingual, which gives me extra clout in social interactions. In one country I am linguistically disadvantaged and in the other, I am quite privileged.

In addition to this, over time, and through my travels across continents mainly in my early twenties, I became increasingly aware of my socio-economic advantages of being able to spend long periods of time in countries and cultures that were very distinct from my own. I have first-hand experience of having minimal difficulties travelling between borders in Asia and Africa, visa exemptions and unrestricted access to beautiful parts of the world. The question of citizenship became quite interesting to me, and when I read news reports of the issues and stress refugees or immigrants face when moving countries, I became cognisant of the value of my Irish passport and the rights and opportunities it afforded.

These trips abroad, and my life-long interest in meditation and spirituality, have also made me closely examine my own identity and place in the world, particularly regarding who we are and where we come from. I am acutely aware of the privileges that have been given to me in my life, and how it has impacted my upbringing and life experiences in a generally very positive way. In meditation practice I often focus on deconstructing the thoughts, ideas and concepts that are most closely related to me, and seeing reality in a more objective manner.

Case Study 1: Critical Pedagogy in Low-Resource Classrooms

As introduced at the beginning of this chapter, Aditi’s classroom offers a compelling example of the challenges and possibilities within low-resource schools. Her experience as a teacher working with students from marginalised communities highlights the tension between privilege and disadvantage, as well as the transformative potential of dialogical teaching methods. This case study builds on her story to explore the principles of critical pedagogy, a liberating approach to education that emphasises dialogue, reflection, and action. By revisiting the dynamics in Aditi’s classroom, we examine how educators can address structural disadvantages, foster inclusion, and empower students to challenge systemic inequities. Through this lens, we invite you to consider actionable pathways for bridging the gaps in privilege and creating more equitable educational spaces.

What is critical pedagogy?

Paulo Freire was a Brazilian educator who played an important role in laying the foundations of critical pedagogy. In his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed he describes critical pedagogy as a liberating form of education that involves praxis which is “reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it” (Freire, 1970, p.51). It begins with problematising the social and economic structures and social relations that shape the lives of the people, and in which schools also function. It views schools as ideological sites, as an embodiment of the normative values, relations of power, and larger social structure and complicit in reproducing dominant social relations and structures but also, potentially, as sites of emancipation and for challenging the taken-for-granted nature of knowledge (Roberts, 1996). It also means  looking critically at our role within the social structure, the asymmetrical power relations in the society and our privileges, as well as the role we might play in knowingly or unknowingly challenging or reproducing the values and ideologies of a repressive and exploitative system (Bartolomé, 2004).

For teachers and students in the classrooms, critical pedagogy is about remaking their perspectives and lives by critically reflecting on the world, including multiple perspectives, knowledge structures, and also enabling the students to learn “academic” or “scientific” knowledge. Within this approach, learners and teachers are encouraged to critically view their relations with others and their position in the world, and think about the forces that shape their consciousness (Giroux, 2010). This involves the act of constant remaking, where teachers and students reflect and critically perceive their social position,  not from abstract ideas and concepts, but from their social position and lived experiences (Freire, 1970).

Critical pedagogy moves away from a more authoritative model of learning and teaching, which Freire describes as the banking concept of education. In the banking concept, the learning and teaching methods are dominated by practices of rote learning, a hierarchical teacher-student relationship, and a prescriptive model of learning and teaching wherein students are thought of as empty vessels to be filled by teachers (Freire, 1970). It is inherently anti-dialogical, where knowledge is unchanged and the social reality is treated as outside the purview of education. By not questioning the nature of reality and the inequalities in the world, this kind of education serves the interest of those in the position of power, the oppressors, and contributes to maintaining the status quo. It also kills the creativity and critical imagination of students and discourages them from posing questions about what counts as knowledge (Roberts, 1996).

Why do we need critical pedagogy?

Critical pedagogy emphasises the liberating and emancipatory potential of education. By its very nature, it is problem-posing.

Participants pose problems and begin to question. It is also not limited to classrooms and has liberation as its purpose through the process of posing and addressing problems (Roberts, 1996). It introduces the participants to new ways of thinking and gives them the tools to question dominant ideas, biased and discriminatory social practices and knowledge to intervene and restructure them (Giroux, 2010).

Critical pedagogy is particularly important for teachers and students who teach and learn in a diverse context which includes students from lower social and economic backgrounds. This is because the central characteristic of critical pedagogy is dialogue.

“Only the dialogue, which requires critical thinking, is also capable of generating critical thinking. Without dialogue, there is no communication, and without communication, there can be no true education” (Freire, 1970, p. 73).

Here, we would like to introduce Gayatri Chakrovorty Spivak’s ideas. Dialogue or the act of speaking is so important especially for students who are from non-dominant social groups, especially for the marginalised “other” as they are usually spoken for (Spivak, 1989). They are usually the object of knowledge for others to be appropriated and dialogue is essential when aiming to learn bidirectionally. It connects education to a larger context of our identity, social position and power relations. It allows both the teachers and the students to learn and unlearn their own privileges by entering into a dialogue. This dialogue allows us to engage with marginal or subaltern communities in a learning process that does not just result in academic knowledge about the ‘other’, but is useful in developing theoretical insights about one’s own positionality.

Another reason why critical pedagogy is important is because education is not a neutral process. It is a reflection of the larger social structure and the inequalities that are present in the world. In a classroom, the students’ and teacher’s position in the social order are important factors that interact with how they learn and teach (Bernstein, 2004; Hoadley & Muller, 2010).

In Aditi’s classroom, the difference in the social class and caste position of the teacher and the students was significant and it was one of the barriers that prevented them from having open communication. The students are more used to studying through a lecture-based approach and have internalised silence. Here, it is important to point out that schools not only contain an instructional aspect i.e., content taught, what is categorised as knowledge, how it is taught, etc. but also a moral aspect which includes teaching values, behaviour, and ways of thinking which are considered as essential and appropriate to exist in a society (Bernstein, 2004). This shapes what students learn and how they perceive the world around them and also themselves.

While it is important to take note of the power held by institutional structures, rules and regulations over classroom processes, it is important to remember that the teacher’s subjectivity also plays an important role. Teaching is a political act. Often teachers believe in “meritocracy” that is, if you study hard, you succeed (Bartolomé, 2004). Often teachers have a deficit lens through which they especially view students who are linguistic minorities, low socio-economic background or disadvantaged in any other way. It has been described as a lens of educability i.e., learning potential. Teachers construct a generalised notion about marginalised students associated with a learning deficiency due to their lower socio-economic background (Bartolomé, 2004; Majumder & Mooij, 2011). When the model of teaching is authoritarian, which is based on hierarchising students as “weak” and “intelligent” and based on a non-dialogic student-teacher relationship, it can lead to the internalisation of a self-deprecating image wherein the students become fearful of any pedagogy which pushes them to think freely (Nambissan, 2010).

It is important to point out here that the criticism is not directed towards individual teachers but towards a system of education and the attitudes and social relations that underpin and hold it together (Freire, 1970).

The teacher’s subjectivity interacts with the material realities of the schooling context which shape the classroom pedagogy. So, an interactional relationship between the structure of schooling (curriculum, resources used, assessment and evaluation) and also the subjectivities of teachers and students, creates a space to challenge, learn and unlearn their own privileges, prejudices and asymmetrical power relations, while at the same time understanding how students make meaning. In the above-mentioned case study, the teacher uses the context that students are familiar with to introduce them to new concepts and ideas. She begins with their immediate surroundings and believes that they already know things and need help in giving them shape.

What can teachers do to develop this perspective?

The answer is dialogue.

Education is an act of co-creating and making knowledge, but it does not mean that ‘anything goes’. Teachers give direction and structure to learning (Roberts, 1996). They are interventionists (Freire, 1970). It also does not mean imposing their views on students. The teacher’s view is not the only view and asking questions is an essential part of the learning process. They ‘relearn’ their subject continuously. The liberating teacher welcomes questions and sees them as a sign of critical engagement. Students should critically engage themselves but there are “inductive” moments where the teachers take initiative to redirect, take charge and assist. It has to have a clear structure and purpose (Freire, 1970).

The teachers drive the learning process and encourage students to see that reality can be altered to problematise their current situation (Freire, 1970; Roberts, 1996). The teacher’s role includes asking probing questions and providing important information, that will enable them to begin to ask one another questions, to perceive either former perceptions, and timorously place in doubt the opinion they held of reality, replacing it with a more and more critical knowledge.

Through critical pedagogy teachers also realise their important role as defenders and advocates for students. They hold the power to create self-empowering conditions in which students can play an active role in their own learning and have a voice in the process. They also have a responsibility to ensure that all students are able to participate in the dialogical process without feeling forced to speak up. All ideas and views are open to question, either advocated by teachers or students. This perspective helps both teachers and students arrive at a critical view of reality and question their own biases and prejudices (Bartolomé, 2004).

Case Study 2: Inquiry-Based Learning in a Multicultural Context

Imagine an International School in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which is a very multicultural and diverse city, and famous for attracting a diverse community from around the world. The school is located in the suburbs of the city, and is known for offering high-quality and inclusive education to almost 900 students from varied cultural backgrounds between its primary and secondary programmes. The school is partly government funded and partly privately funded, with a management board that is also involved in key decision making, appointments and the broader concerns of the school.

Here are seven key features of the school.

Curriculum

The international school follows the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) for its younger students, and the International Baccalaureate Middle Years and Diploma Programme (IB MYP and IB DP) for its secondary school students. It is a challenging curriculum, offering an internationally recognised education and one that has been specifically chosen to meet the needs of the local community. It is a student-centred approach to education, with a clear emphasis on inquiry-based learning and promotion of student agency in and outside the classroom.

Inclusive Education

Being a safe, welcome and inclusive school environment is at the heart of the mission and vision of the International School. Students come from diverse backgrounds, nationalities and socioeconomic backgrounds and the school ethos is based on creating and maintaining an atmosphere of respect, collaboration, openness and compassion, in fact, the 3 C’s of Curiosity, Connection and Compassion are the core values of the school. The students are encouraged to engage with their own cultural identities, while at the same time developing intercultural dialogue and cross-cultural understanding between their peers.

Multilingual Education

In this international school, multilingual education and language diversity is celebrated and within the context of the school, some educational programs aim to teach students in their own native languages. Combined with this, there are many opportunities for students to engage in learning additional languages. Throughout the school year, there are specific weeks whereby a certain language is spoken and promoted throughout the school, including staff and students using basic phrases and greetings in the building. This atmosphere inspires all members of the school community to be aware of their own linguistic identity whilst at the same time, sets the backdrop for more communication, open-mindedness and cross-cultural collaboration in a complex and diverse world.

Staff

The international school regularly has representation at job fairs, and has been able to employ very qualified and dedicated teachers and staff who are very experienced in international education. Staff members come from a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, bringing a rich collection of teaching resources, approaches and perspectives to the daily life of the school in terms of application, atmosphere and perspectives. In addition to this, staff are expected to engage in ongoing professional development learning during their time at this international school, and many of these workshops and learning programs and certificates are inextricably linked to inclusion and diversity within a school setting.

Community

The international school community is very strong and united, with a strong connection between the school, parents and the wider community, with active involvement and regular communication between all parties. Other local organisations and small businesses are also willing to participate in school related activities. Some of the ways that this happens in practice are through parents actively getting involved in school events and activities, acting as guest speakers on specific topics and local businesses offering to showcase, teach and inspire students to make their first steps in engaging with the wider community outside of school. A core belief of the school that is embedded in learning from kindergarten through to diploma level, is the emphasis on taking action, drawing conclusions and making connections with the world around them, that is not solely limited to theoretical focus in the classrooms.

Co-curricular Activities

The school offers a wide range of co-curricular activities for the students, which complement the academic subjects that are being taught, including chess, taekwondo, drama, music and many others. Students are encouraged to explore and develop their interests and talents, and build relationships with their peers while doing so. The school community is invited to join students when there are exhibitions, competitions or other activities whereby the school’s students are being represented, all the while ensuring that school morale and participation is celebrated and valued in a variety of forms and settings.

School Environment

There is a clear anti-bullying policy in the school, which aims to ensure that all its students feel protected, respected and most importantly safe. This is communicated clearly on the school websites, to all students and parents, and actively discussed and visible throughout the school premises. Students feel valued, they know what is expected of them and there is a convivial atmosphere based on respect and inclusion. In addition to this, safeguarding students and child protection is a key aspect of the school’s accreditation standards, meaning that all staff need to obtain and submit a police clearance regarding suitability to work in education.

One of the main goals of the international school is to provide an education that is both holistic in nature, but also prepares students for the increasingly complex global world. The aim is to guide students to take ownership of their learning and be active participants in their community, to be open-minded, caring, respectful and knowledgeable, and armed with the skills to be critical thinkers and clear communicators in their interactions and connections with the world.

Inquiry-based Learning

Curious minds and eager to learn, inquiry-based learning aims to place learners in the centre of the learning process, and to encourage students to explore, discover and question. It is a student-centred pedagogical approach that gives students the opportunity to construct knowledge and understanding throughout a learning process (Bonnstetter, 1998). In doing so, they make greater connections between themselves and world, and between ideas and concepts (Wang et al., 2010). To achieve this, students are encouraged to follow their interests and passions, research and investigate problems and draw conclusions based on evidence, all the while interacting and socially collaborating with their peers (Tal et al., 2019). It is a key component of modern educational practice across many international schools and educational settings, and with this in mind, will be explored further in relation to case study 2 above.

Clearly based upon the ideas of constructivism, and indeed the ideas and methods of scientists to construct scientific knowledge, in inquiry-based learning students use a learning model or cycle that first inspires them to question, observe a phenomenon, investigate and test, solve problems and reflect, before eventually reaching a conclusion or discovery (Keselman, 2003). The levels of inquiry in terms of the degree of autonomy afforded to students will be explored shortly, but  understanding the role of the teacher is also critical, as is the importance of a positive and open rapport between the teacher and student (Uno, 1990). One of the main proponents of inquiry-based learning, Kath Murdoch states, “As an inquiry teacher, you lead and guide, but you must also be prepared to be led and be guided in turn” (Murdoch, 2015, p. 16). To lead a full inquiry cycle in a school setting, encourages learners to develop thinking capacities and internalise skills (Öztürk et al., 2022) that allow them to take ownership of their learning, and this is done through an active learning approach (Levy et al., 2009).

MacKenzie (2018) describes four types of inquiry: controlled inquiry, structured inquiry, guided inquiry and free inquiry, in which different levels of inquiry, autonomy and structural approaches are designed for a learning cycle or unit. Within all of these approaches, students are introduced to new resources and materials, ask key questions, investigate, share and make connections.

Controlled inquiry

In this inquiry process, it is the teacher who creates the questions to be investigated by the students, including the resources and learning engagements. While students’ input is limited, there is more autonomy and independence in the research and analysis stage and the students are responsible for making and sharing their own findings to the topic questions.

Structured inquiry

This level of inquiry involves the teacher managing the full inquiry process in the classroom, the type of engagement, materials, activities, questions and methods of assessment. Students are engaged in the process but have minimal say into the direction or scope of the inquiry process.

Guided inquiry

In guided inquiry, the emphasis is on student ownership and autonomy as the driver of the inquiry process, as it is assumed skills and knowledge have been internalised to such a degree that students can inquire and investigate accordingly. It stops short of being full free inquiry as the teacher still provides the initial research questions to be used, but the students will choose the resources to find the answers and ultimately decide how to demonstrate and show the findings.

Free inquiry

In free enquiry, there is complete autonomy and student ownership of learning. Students select their own questions to be investigated, find and choose the resources that will help them answer the questions and finally understand, reflect and share the findings of the research. In free inquiry, the role of the teacher is to facilitate the student on the learning journey, to support and ask appropriate questions that will drive their learning. In order for free inquiry to be effective, students should already be familiar with the inquiry cycle and have built up the self-management and research and analytical skills to be comfortable with this approach to learning. In turn, this will maximise their learning experience and stimulate learning and connections of ideas and concepts, including their own place in the world around them.

In case study 2, inquiry-based learning is intended to encourage students to think and act critically, be engaged learners in the classroom and beyond in their lives, all the while being an inclusive space whereby students have the opportunity to express themselves without the traditional elements of indoctrination. In this student-driven process, with a clear focus on problem-solving skills and research, students explore deeply and make connections with each other in a collaborative manner. Students inquire and discuss, as well as reflect on what they have learned in the process. Student skills increase as they progress in an inquiry-based curriculum, with a more inclusive attitude and respect towards fellow learners, in addition to greater levels of empathy of learners.

In order to implement inquiry-based learning in case study 2, the International School in Amsterdam follows a particular inquiry cycle for all schoolgoers, as part of the IB curriculum. The cycle varies between each phase of learning in terms of language and accessibility but the common core elements of investigation, research and exploration are constant. In the early years, students are encouraged to take initiative and ownership of the learning, build foundational knowledge and build conceptual understanding of transdisciplinary themes and ideas. The inquiry cycle is clearly designed and synchronised throughout the school, and once students reach the end of the DP programme, the skills and abilities to succeed and be prepared for life are very evident in learners. In practice, the students are inherently familiar with collaboration with other students and groups, the principles of investigation, research and reflection, and many other facets of an inquiry-based, student-centred curriculum. The students who graduate from Case Study 2 school are independent and critical thinkers, the result of initiatives that place the student as the focal point of the learning and teaching process, and are ready and able to engage with people in an increasingly globalised, complex and rapidly changing world.

All students should have access to the same inquiry process regardless of their background, abilities or diversity, and the role of the teacher is to support students on this journey, through knowing their students’ needs and guiding their students in the most effective way deemed possible. It is worth discussing the benefits of inquiry-based learning, not solely in terms of student satisfaction and inclusivity, but also in terms of the abilities and skills that students develop through its effective application, many of which are lifelong skills that remain vital throughout a student’s development in later years. There is substantial literature and studies that highlight students are supported in developing creativity, reflection, analytical and critical thinking skills (Agrusti, 2013; Friedel et al., 2008). When this is achieved, and with the required amount of training and professional development given for staff and teachers (Öztürk, Kaya & Demir, 2022) the inquiry cycle and more broadly, inquiry-based learning, is an important instructional tool to develop critical thinkers for the 21st century and encompassed in the broader scheme of inclusion of all learners in the learning process and a more equitable society for all.

Case Study 3: Feminist Approaches to Geography Education

Imagine a geographer in your mind. What would they look like? What do you think would be their daily routines? Why would you imagine them in this way? Yang (2017) asked Chinese teenagers to draw a geographer and found that students prominently imagined: a Han Chinese male exploring nature with maps and a magnifying glass. However, university geography in China is “a field of knowledge imported from the West” (Qian and Zhang, 2022, p.29). Sun et al. (2020) described the foreign impact on Chinese geography as “inescapable” (p.105).  This result reflects several dimensions to re-think inclusion in education: gender, ethnicities, social and cultural backgrounds, language, etc.

Geography as a school subject is widely taught in most countries (Lambert, 2017). However, school geography may include knowledge about different parts of the world, but does not always prepare teachers and students to ask the question on whose knowledge is visible and what knowledge is chosen. The structural disadvantage is that students may learn the knowledge as “given” if teachers assume their teaching is “delivering” what is already there in the curriculum. One way for a teacher to tackle the structural disadvantage is to actively engage in curriculum making. See  the Inclusive Curriculum Making chapter for more details. Here we provide how to apply feminist approaches in geography education as an example of a possible pathway.

What can feminist approaches do to make geography education more inclusive through learning and teaching methods?

Firstly, instead of imagining, teachers and students can look up geographers who contributed to their textbooks, such as book authors and geographers mentioned in the textbooks. This is just a beginning as we no longer live in a time where educational materials are just given textbooks. The International Geographical Union and national, regional geographical societies and associations have started to recognise women geographers and geographers from minor ethnicities, and tell their stories with their inspirational work. There is no need to ‘reinvent the wheel’ if some resources are already there. For example, Hermione (one of our authors) initiated a Mapping Inspirational Women project in 2023, brought together resources on a Google world map, interviewed inspirational women geographers and released them as free podcast series.

Secondly, many secondary geography teachers already knew more geographers than most students, either from their educational backgrounds (e.g., have degrees in geography) or professional networks (e.g. subscribe to subject or discipline related associations, like the International Geographical Union). Teachers must not just see themselves as givers, but also learners who are curious to know more about geography, then share their findings with other learners (e.g., their colleagues and students), as well as listen to what they have found. The learning and teaching methods became toolboxes one takes along the learning and teaching journey.

Thirdly, as Freire (1970) argued, schools exists in a society, but can also be the place where changes begin. Hence, “imagine geographers” would still be appreciated as a creative method to learn and teach geography for its potential in forward-looking prospects. However, if we consider a feminist approach to re-design and update our methods, teachers and educators could identify what is missing in students’ imagination, and share more diverse and inspirational real life stories with students. In addition, the boundaries of geography as a subject can also be crossed. For example, many school geography curricula include the content of plate tectonics and use the map of the ocean floor to prove the theory of continental drift. However, the brilliant geologist and oceanographic cartographer Marie Tharp who mapped the ocean floor was not often credited. Studying geography, as with other school subjects, does not necessarily mean we expect them all to become geographers, or specialists in one subject.

To educate is to practise freedom (hooks, 1994), finding ways to transform the world towards a better place for everyone to feel connected and seen. We assume everyone reading the chapter does not want to encourage racism and sexism in their classrooms, but are we actually dealing with this well when all the examples we could show to students are ‘classical examples of scholars’? In the age of multiculturalism, teachers and students are not necessarily only familiar with one country, one culture, and so they are potential agents of change to rethink and personalise the learning and teaching journey they experience. For example,  Shetterly (2017) told the stories of black women scientists in her nonfiction book Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race. It was later adapted to a film by the same name. It is not possible nor necessary to give all examples in this chapter, but rather we wish to point out that a person can write and add more layers to histories as a feminist approach. Instead of becoming the only authorised narrator, feminist approaches to learning and teaching invites everyone to have the will to become a narrator in their own life, and make connections to what they already know, and what they would like  not to be hidden any longer. In other words, it is an approach to embrace diverse voices which ultimately leads us to the understanding that education is for everybody.

By bringing the feminist approach to imagine and enact in learning and teaching methods, we expect new horizontal dialogical relationships could emerge between learners and teachers (the two roles actually could be fluid, mixed, and definitely not fixed). If you do not reproduce racial and gender hierarchy, or any kind of privilege in your classroom, then  you have begun to navigate your journey.

More about and more than feminist approaches

In this section, we start by introducing two scholars who could provide insights to diversify learning and teaching methods, then move to possible ways to get inspiration from their work in the classroom and other educational scenarios.

Starting from her first major book Ain’t I a Woman? black women and feminism (hooks, 1981), Gloria Jean Watkins became known by readers across the world by her pen name, bell hooks, a name intentionally not capitalised. Now one can get to know her more through the bell hooks centre.

In Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom (hooks, 1994),  the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire who developed the critical pedagogy approach explored above, is mentioned. Paulo Freire and the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh are seen by hooks as two “teachers” who have touched her deeply with their work. She summarised their influence on her in the name of “engaged pedagogy” (hooks, 1994, p.13), summarising their similar emphasis on “action and reflection upon the world in order to change it” (hooks, 1994, p.14). This progressive and holistic education, requiring engagement in emancipatory pedagogy is not easy, and hooks recognises that this is even “more demanding than conventional critical or feminist pedagogy” (hooks, 1994, p.15).

Then why would teachers still consider taking this approach for their learning and teaching methods? One of the reasons hooks gives is its emphasis on wellbeing, not just for students but also an active commitment to promote teachers’ self-actualisation. Teachers’ wellbeing is promoted if they teach in a way that empowers students, which echoes Thích Nhất Hạnh’ phrase: teachers as healers. It embeds a Buddhist philosophy that if the one who helps others is unhappy, they cannot help many people. In other words, if teachers do not take up self-responsibility to become self-actualised human beings, how could they help many students to also become self-conscious and go through the process of self-actualisation?

This is similar to a Chinese saying: “To give people fish is not as good as to teach them how to fish”. If a teacher intends to teach students to learn in a manner of inclusion, it would not be possible if they did not learn and learn to teach with a sense of inclusion. The journey to liberatory education for inclusion is challenging, everyone would struggle, but the reason to keep it going is that the belief in education should be liberatory for all, should tear down the power of privilege and authority to empower and inform everyone of their right to an education. Instead of reinforcing existing systems which lack inclusion, teachers can learn to embrace their roles as learners, joyfully walking along with their students to make their way through the world.

However, we do not call the chapter learning and learning methods as we are fully aware that the risk of transforming an educational vocabulary into a language of learning is empty (Biesta, 2009; 2017; 2022). Teachers have a unique role by rediscovering teaching. First, teachers can give what students did not ask for, or something students did not even know they could ask for (Biesta, 2022). Some students may never think about checking their privilege, or think that power in one scenario could be changed into lack of power in another. These are examples of where teachers can have a gesture to say: hey, look at this! What do you think?

Second, teachers can give double truth to help students understand the complicated world. It means that there is not necessarily ONE truth that is universally applicable. For example, people growing up in East Asia are likely to act differently to someone who has never lived outside their town in the middle of England. But if they happen to live in each other’s countries for a while for education or jobs, they are more likely to see each other and why they have formulated different habits. However, it is unlikely that everyone would have this personal experience to live in a different country to experience cultural differences and embrace cultural diversity. Teachers could use existing resources such as The Human Library Organisation to challenge stigma and stereotypes. By showing that there is one true knowledge or one way of understanding certain things, teachers show knowledge as well as the frame in which knowledge is recognised and appreciated. Sometimes either teachers or students could be in the frame and not realise it, that is why teaching is important to get someone out of a frame which limits their thinking.

Thirdly, teaching is a practice of giving yourself. Learning, to some extent, is absorbing what is given. If everyone is only absorbing, then what is taught would be something given and fixed. Hence, the gesture of teaching matters. When a student in their life has never got a chance to be exposed to inclusive education, then a teacher does not teach by giving, how could the student learn? This does not mean the teacher would be always giving themself. It is likely that the teacher has to first give themself and help students open up to the meaning of inclusion, which could then be considered engaging. To a certain extent, it would be very rare for a human being to never experience them being powerless and marginalised. If a teacher could be an open book to talk about their transformative experience, then it is likely that this could encourage students to also make connections to their experiences and appreciate that inclusion in the end, means everyone will benefit from it. It changes some people’s privilege to power shared by everyone.

In the last part of this section, we would like to introduce a Chinese woman, educational theorist and reform practitioner: Ye Lan and her Life-practice Educology (2020). Although her theory’s English translation was published in 2020, her theorisation started in 1983 and is still in process today. In addition, Ye could be considered as a ‘wild’ feminist (Ye, 2007) for her reading in gender and feminist studies and her own reflexivity on her career with a lens of gender. The reason we put ‘wild’ is because Ye is not widely recognised as a feminist scholar, but known for her theorisation of education and practice wisdom, and reform she led in Chinese schools. We will not go into much detail about this. The point to make is that we hope our spotlight on Ye can help you open up your mind on what feminist approaches could be.

In 1982, Ye went to Yugoslavia and her mentor there showed her that their education ideas focus on personal development. By then, the popular idea in China was that education serves society (Ye, 2013). From then, Ye began to challenge the role of genetic factors in human development. In 1986, she published an article in Chinese to propose that an individual as a conscious being has a say in their own development, emphasising that the genetic factors’ influence fades as one grows older, but one’s agency gets strengthened (as cited in Ye, 2013). As one’s capability to choose and change their environment is improving, the final decisive factor is the person themself (Ye, 2013). This is where her life-practice educology started to emerge.

If the purpose of education is to help one take ownership of one’s life, then classroom teaching should be considered as an important life experience for both teachers and students. From 1994, Ye started to collaborate with schools. In the classroom, the reform focused on exploring how to re-organise textbooks, how to teach, and centring on how to help students to take an active role. In each class, this reform encourages classmates to organise their class activities, and manage their class by rotating their ‘managerial role’ to lead. It was not until 15 years later when she had 10 schools as life-practice schools that Ye felt that she had confidence to say there is a difficult but possible route for schools to reform in the existing conditions (Ye, 2013). The fundamental view of Life-Practice Educology is rooted in a Chinese expression of education, which considers teaching the knowledge of nature and society to cultivate a self-consciousness of life (Ye, 2020).

From hooks to Biesta then Ye, there is a clear thread of involving teachers as the change-makers in the classroom. If the teacher does not want to consider engaged pedagogy, rediscover their gift of teaching, or cultivate self-consciousness, all these ideas would just be texts on the shelf. The same for our chapter. The learning and teaching methods shall be explored by teachers first, then in communication with students, and hopefully back to us and professional communities for further discussions. This cycle of reflection and action are what we can do together to make learning and teaching methods exploration part of our life-practice.

Discussion and Concluding Remarks

If we look at all three approaches closely, we will see that all are advocating a type of educational approach or perspective that treats learners as “subjects” instead of objects in the learning process. All are interconnected and wish to develop education as a process of freedom and move away from an authoritarian model of learning and teaching. In case study 2, students in the international school belong to varied socio-economic and linguistic backgrounds and nationalities. Even the teaching staff reflects this diversity and the school tries to be inclusive by adopting a curriculum suited to the needs of the learners and the context through an inquiry-based approach to learning and teaching methods. You may have noted that what Paulo Freire describes as the principles of a liberating education can also be seen being practised in this school. The school aims to promote student agency and takes account of the students’ identity and social location. They reflect critically on their own position in the world and also of their peers. Instead of trying to create a uniform space, the school celebrates the diversity of the students. In this manner, it creates a self-empowering space with the help of teachers and students wherein the knowledge structures and the skills of minorities are also presented as academic material. This school also questions the dominant pedagogic practices and promotes working together by engaging not just with textbooks within the schools but with the outside world as well.

The overlap between critical pedagogy and feminist approaches is evident as bell hooks refers to and takes inspiration from the works of Paulo Freire. In case study 3, we use the example of geography education to highlight the possibilities of using dialogue within a feminist approach. Teachers hold the power to change how learning and teaching take place within the classroom. They can exercise their autonomy and agency by using dialogue. Teachers have access to academic knowledge and give direction and structure to learning and teaching. In this case, teachers can relearn geography along with the students and also share their own knowledge about diverse geographers to enable students to develop a comprehensive understanding of geography. This will also help students look critically at what is geography, what it includes and it excludes. Dialogue which flows both ways makes it possible to evolve this subject, make connections with other subjects and also with other cultures and include what might be missing from the official curriculum of geography in the school.

Inquiry-based learning can be universally applied, indeed one of the main tenets of this approach is for the teacher to create a safe and supportive learning environment, whereby students feel comfortable to express themselves openly in groups, to discuss and explore, all the while with the support of a knowledgeable teacher(s). In case study 1, in an inquiry-based learning approach, the teacher, may use resources and materials that all students can relate to and understand. At the start of a unit or inquiry cycle, the teacher, despite her privileged position, can engage the students with a provocation or learning engagement that can motivate and interest the students in a meaningful way, that will serve to encourage the students to investigate, question, research, learn and share. It is not a process that would happen instantaneously, but allowing the students to ask questions and investigate can give them a sense of ownership of their learning. With inquiry-based learning, and even with a young class of students from a disadvantaged background, a teacher who is open to sharing and empathetic, can radically aid the students to be more critical thinkers over time. It is important to note that the students may need help with some basic skills to make these investigations and inquiries happen, but with an effective school policy and curriculum, learning and teaching will become substantially more effective. This is the very same point that is relevant to case study 3 and the feminist approaches that we believe are instrumental in creating learning environments for students that are not only inclusive and stimulating for the students, but also highlight the importance of the teachers being aware of their own role in the learning and teaching process, being willing to lead, as well as being guided by the students (Murdoch, 2015, p 16).

When we bring feminist approaches to look at case study one, one of the connections is that the teacher does not want to remain in the status quo, but rather wants to take action. She intentionally finds alternatives to engage children in her classroom from their lives, and open up pupils’ minds about their potential in education. By doing so, her agentic move as an individual challenges the whole ‘culture of silence’. However, it will not be possible if pupils do not respond to her gestures in dialogues. In other words, learning and teaching emerge in dialogues between teachers and students. There is no doubt that teachers need to prepare teaching by themselves, students need time to learn by themselves. Nevertheless, the difference between self-taught and our scenario (learning and teaching methods) is that even when teachers and students are by themselves, they have each other in mind. They know they will contribute their part, take the ownership of learning and teaching, and trust the other will also do their part. Teachers know that they can ask students for their thoughts, and students can ask teachers more questions. The thread between feminist approaches and critical pedagogy is that they both see the human beings behind their role as teachers and students. By bringing their subjectivity into educational dialogues, privilege could be transformed as ‘catalyst’ for empowerment.

By using a feminist lens to investigate case study two, we can see that inquiry-based learning again highlights teacher-student collaboration. It may start as teachers being more curious and guiding students to inquire, but as students grow their curiosity and get more familiar with inquiry-based learning, teachers can take a back seat. We are aware that the international school may not fit all students and teachers. Quite a few features look like a luxury only accessible for those who can afford tuition fees as well as living expenses in a megacity. Many schools may sit in between case study one (have NGO teachers to support) and case study two (equipped with dedicated teachers). That is why feminist approaches are helpful to interpret case study two and inquiry-based learning in a different way. Rather than dreaming of your school changing into the Amsterdam one overnight, consider tiny changes that you as a teacher can make in your classroom. It is possible to turn two to three minutes of your lecture into genius minutes for students to imagine what they would like to learn in the subject you teach, or encourage them to just search something they would like to know and share with their classmates and you next time. For example, start your class with a three-minute ‘ignite talk’ by one student sharing what they are interested in regarding the subject. The links between feminist approaches and inquiry-based learning is to recognise that an individual teacher has been given the gift to teach their students, not by their words, but their gesture to encourage students.

For example, a geography teacher can say: “Hey, I am so happy that you are also so interested in delicious food. So am I. Would you like to share some of your favourite dishes with me?” After students share theirs, a teacher can also share. Then the teacher can relate this to geography, asking if students know where these dishes are originally from, and how they travelled to our places. If they know, they are already knowledgeable to share. If not, the teacher can encourage students to search and share next time. In return, it would be better if teachers also share some of their knowledge.

Overall, we hope our three examples and their connections to each other can spark your ideas on updating learning and teaching methods in your scenario. There are no fixed routes for you to learn and teach, and it is helpful to know what has been explored, then you can start to create your own ideas. It is not easy to have no step-by-step guide, however, it is also an opportunity to find what suits you the best.

The message we hope that you can take away from our chapter is this: It is important for us to acknowledge that the institutional setting and the structure of the school play an important role in shaping the learning and teaching practices However, the teacher’s subjectivity also holds the possibility of transforming learning and teaching and working together with students to help overcome obstacles that lie within the schools and outside. This allows teachers to work towards a more inclusive approach to education.

Local contexts

Literature 

About the authors

name: Hermione Xin Miao

Dr Hermione Xin Miao was born at a rural village in China, raised by her maternal grandparents since she was eight. She stayed in her hometown for schooling while her parents migrated to a big city to make a living. She was one of millions “left-behind children” who experienced exclusion in education. Hermione is a first-generation university student in her family. She has developed research interests in curriculum making, teacher agency, climate change, inclusive education, and intersectional feminism. She has degrees in both geography and education, and a PhD degree from University of Stirling (2024). Hermione has been involved in creative and participatory methods in both research and community building, in particular early career researchers’ network communities. Hermione also has started a Mapping Inspirational Women initiative from 2023 as open educational resources to re-tell women’s contribution to the world.

name: Akshita Rawat

Akshita Rawat is a PhD researcher at the University of Vienna. Her research focuses on social inequality and education in India. Her research interests include teaching-learning practices in classrooms, sociology of education and qualitative research methods. Her research aims to inform policies and practices that promote inclusivity and equity in education.

name: Brian Lynam

Brian Lynam was born and raised in Ireland and has experience of working in international education, specifically in the PYP International Baccalaureate program and International School Teacher training. He is passionate about inquiry based learning, inclusive education, UDL and the role of technology within education.