With those I love, I engage in a pedagogy of the heart. If I am not inclusive, I wrestle with a clash of minds. I reflected on this upon receiving the news that the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology (MCAST) was awarded the Equality Mark by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality.

On the same day that the college celebrated this positive outcome, MCAST issued a guidebook that aims to direct its community members on the use of more inclusive words in communication. Any document, policy or practice on inclusion should speak more to the heart than the mind.

We need to question structures, practices, cultures, and our words and actions. I therefore wish to suggest seven dichotomies to help one reflect on where our communities in general – and our educational institutions in particular – stand in their regard.

Vision and mission vs rights and responsibilities

Is inclusion part of the vision and mission of our community or educational institution? Or does it mostly tap at (or at times disorient) rights and responsibilities? An inclusive community nurtures cohesion, togetherness. We are living a time when choice is one of the mantras. Our life is full of choices. Some matters can be left to choice. But certain things are not up for choice in a society built on care, more so in an inclusive society, and even more so in an educational community. For example, we surely need to choose to include, to care, to love. We cannot have the right not to include, not to care, not to love.

We cannot have the right not to include, not to care, not to love

Sectoral belonging vs collective belonging

We all yearn to belong. The need for belonging is a basic need. Various groups are present in society. Some are dominant while others are minority, marginalised or disadvantaged. Where do we ally ourselves? Should a particular group be presented as the norm? Can or should there be a norm? How is our community nurturing belonging? How does inclusion feature in the authentic branding of an educational institution?

Individual vs community

Including different groups in a community does not place me at the centre, but the other person or group. Inclusion is different from integration. Inclusion in a community requires the determined effort of all the community members. It is all about our collective wish to nurture in our community as opposed to the atomisation reproduced by society’s dominant forces. True educators are everything but egoistic; they nurture the collective. They do not create isolated fortresses.

Occurring by chance vs deliberate action

Education is full of deliberate choices – curricular choices. The curriculum is a site of contestation. Different groups create pressure to try and influence what is in it. This is not only true for the written curriculum but also for the hidden one and the way we live different curricular experiences during our learning opportunities. When you believe in something, you actively promote it. If we believe in having an inclusive community, we have to collectively, deliberately, work for it.

Absolute fixed mindset vs work in progress

While speaking, one might understandably use of an unfortunately chosen word. We might need time to improve our impromptu spoken utterances. But being constantly evaluative is of utmost importance for those who hold the value of inclusion at heart.

The words we use are evidence of an inclusive attitude or the lack of it. MCAST has furthermore issued a document as an aid for our actions and reflection. The document, like any other, is constantly up for review, especially since the meaning of words changes over time. What is surely a non-starter for an inclusive community are actions stemming from prejudice. So one needs to ask: What is ultimately guiding my actions, even subconsciously? How much of a lifelong, life-broad, and life-wide learner am I?

Continuity vs change

“It was always done that way”; “We always spoke that way”; “We always used those words”; “This emphasis on inclusion is uncalled for”; “This emphasis on using inclusive words is excessive”; “Why all this fuss on a word?”. MCAST and any other community worthy of its calling is on a continuous journey of improvement. How willing am I to be led by other community members during a discussion on the type of inclusive community we should have? There are others who are more knowledgeable, more experienced, or colleagues serving a particular role in the community. How am I interacting with them?

Authenticity vs make-believe

Is inclusion a guiding principle or is it mandatory? Do I have to follow documents aimed at enhancing inclusive practices? Are they guidelines or mandatory? Do I not need to be told that respect is mandatory because I have been brought up with respect? Do I not need a document in order to be inclusive because that is the basis of every true community?

We start to lose our naturalness when we fight inner battles with our prejudices. If deep down we are inclusive, we can speak and act naturally, and we are unlikely to err. And if we err, the victims of our mistakes almost automatically forgive us because they know, feel and have witnessed our authenticity, and can thus place any slip within a wider context of positive inclusive practices.

It is ultimately a matter of attitudes. Educational institutions are constantly harping on learning outcomes pertaining to knowledge, skills and competencies. Little do we stop to reflect on the importance attitudes have on competence building. Attitudes are difficult to measure. Due to our fixation on measuring performance, we have sidelined anything which hints at attitudes and values. They cannot be measured, so they have slowly evaporated from policies and guiding documents. Is it time to bring them to the fore again? What importance are we giving to attitudes and values?

MCAST continues its journey of continuous improvement in its inclusive practices, boosted by the NCPE Equality Mark achieved and aided by the inclusive language guidebook. Our community life is a work in progress.

 

Reuben Mifsud is deputy director for continuous professional development at MCAST.