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Paper short abstract:

In my ethnographic research with Dutch higher education teachers I see a focus on good intentions in their inclusivity practices, also when tensions arise. Their varying responses confirm an individualized understanding of inclusivity, leaving little space for structural educational inquality.

Paper long abstract:

In recent years diversity and inclusivity have become important items on the policy agenda of Dutch higher education institutions. Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences aims to be a school where everyone feels welcome, regardless of their background. In broadly defined terms the school urges educators to create inclusive learning environments for all students. When educators engage with the call for more inclusion, the lack of a conceptual framework becomes problematic and raises different questions: How do teachers engage with inclusivity? How do they shape their inclusivity practices and how do these practices inform us on their understandings of diversity and inclusivity in higher education? Based on ethnographic fieldwork with educators in higher education I see that teachers draw from personal experiences and interests and create inclusivity initiatives based on general principles of pedagogy and educational theory. Their intentions to positively contribute to inclusion overrule related tensions and discomfort in education. I observed how teachers evade, trivialize, patronize, (re)negotiate amongst others in response to highlighted frictions, marginalizations, power differences and confronting understandings of diversity and inclusivity. Yet despite varying reactions, educators remain focused on their good intentions. I conclude that in this process a generalized and individualized understanding of inclusion prevails leaving little space for understanding and discussing structural inequality.