Inclusive education: Easier said than done

Facilitated by researchers and educators in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Netherlands and Ghana, the project invites students, staff and faculty within higher education to engage in various forms of storytelling to inform and recognize what it takes to build inclusive principles within classroom settings and beyond.

Co-funded by the European Union, the project began in 2021 and will run for three years. The project will result in three outputs — an online course, art exhibit and documentary — to be produced by 2024.

Partners

E-CHOS has been set up by:

• University of West Bohemia, Czech Republic
• The Hague University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands
• International Institute of Social Studies, The Netherlands
• Constantine the Philosopher University, Slovakia
• University of Development Studies, Ghana

Why storytelling?

The research team’s motivation stems from their struggles to make inclusive learning a reality in classroom settings where inherent inequalities negatively affect student outcomes. Often, inclusion is discussed as a principle to strive for, but time and again, fails to be incorporated into practice within higher education.

E-CHOS will focus on bridging that gap. By using storytelling as a methodology, students, staff and faculty are encouraged to share experiences in classroom settings and learn through an international lens. During the project’s launch and first online conference, team members will share more about how this will be achieved.

Researcher and staff involvement at ISS

• Dr Sreerekha Sathi - ISS project leader
• Professor Rosalba Icaza - leading researcher contributing to project goals
• Sarah Njoroge - communications officer

The ISS team will take the lead in creating the online course and documentary.

The project is overseen by inclusive educator and researcher, Dr Aminata Cairo.