Addressing educational inequities through co-production of inclusive learning

Educational inequities based on race and ethnicity exist in the fields of Occupational Therapy and Psychology. While these inequities are well-documented, very little is known about efforts to address them and the extent of success of such interventions.

This participatory action research project seeks to evaluate the impact of efforts to address race-based educational inequities in Brunel University London's Occupational Therapy and Psychology Divisions. Through this research project, we aim to identify good practices that should be continued or enhanced, as well as areas for improvement. Our findings can help to generate insights contributing towards reducing the race-ethnicity awarding gap in degree classifications. They can be useful for educators and academic administrative leaders in the health and care professions who are actively attempting to take an anti-racist, anti-oppressive approach to learning and teaching.

Occupational Therapy involvement in this project has been partially funded by Health Education England (Capital AHP). We would like to thank the following student co-producers for their involvement in this project: Modolamu Fatimehin, Sydney Lai Mu-En, Gopika Sudhir, Cherif Larbaoui, Winnie Chan, Ellen Chan, Zeth Cabildo, Henry Akintunde-Philips, Maria Rossan Cabello, Klaudia Szollosi, Shana Faiz, Dheg Aidid, Sumiya Malouk, Andy Cheung, Mohd Affan, Mahima Bhuta, Gwyneth Ataderie, Tao Ran, Kripa Gurung, Rushabh Mehta, Zahra Siddiqui.

Project outputs

• Shortlisted for Brunel Research Impact Awards (Educational Impact).
• Open access learning materials: infographics and videos.
• We have contributed to the Council of Deans of Health's report Anti-racism in AHP Education: Building an Inclusive Environment, published in April 2023 – see case studies 2 and 5.
• Results were presented at the Brunel University London Awarding Gap Symposium, the British Education Research Association Annual Conference 2023, and webinars from Health Education England, Capital AHP and the Royal College of Occupational Therapy.

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Meet the Principal Investigator(s) for the project

Jou Yin Teoh - I am the Senior Tutor for the London School of Occupational Therapy, with a track record of enhancing student experience through Racial and Cultural Equity, Digital Accessibility, as well as International Student Support. My work in this regard has received the University's highest accolades for ‘exceptional contribution to teaching and student experience’ - winning the Brunel Student-Led Awards and Ken Darby-Dowman prize. Additionally, my research on co-producing inclusive learning was featured in the Council of Deans of Health report on Anti-Racism in Allied Health Professions Education, shortlisted for the BUL Research Impact Awards in the Educational Impact category; as well as the NHS England Chief Allied Health Officers' Award for Leadership in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. I use co-production and participatory methologies including the Kawa Model to research power dynamics and level the playing field for occupational therapy workforce learning and development in the UK; through scrutinising, challenging, resisting and repairing systemic injustices. My PhD exploring the Hidden Curriculum of Occupational Therapy Education is pending completion, supported by the supervisory committee of of Dr Sofia Barbosa Bouças (Division of Psychology), Dr Geeta Ludhra (Dept of Education) Dr Terry Roberts (Division of Bioscienes) and Dr Michael Iwama (Duke University, USA). Some of my career highlights include: Chair of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists Learning and Development Board (2023-2024) Fellow with the Council of Deans of Health, first occupational therapist to be appointed as part of the inaugural cohort (2022-2023). Professional Lead for Occupational Therapy at Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan University College (2016-2017), first woman of minoritized ethnoreligious background to be appointed in this position in the history of Malaysian Higher Education Pre-academia: occupational therapy entrepreneur with a special interest in social innovation for public health in the Global South; particularly in the integration of digital and community-centered approaches to build and run systems that contribute towards addressing disparities that affect health and well-being. I also contribute towards the wider academic and professional community via the following: Editorial Board member for peer-reviewed journals: the Phillipine Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Neuroscience Research Notes. Mentoring with Academic Intersectionality Mentoring in Medical Schools and BAMEOTUK Network

Project last modified 02/10/2023