Inclusive Curricula and Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies

Morag Duffin, The University of Law

Email: Morag.Duffin@law.ac.uk

Session recording

Presentation

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Abstract

This seminar will review the challenges of developing and monitoring the provision of an inclusive curriculum for professional programmes that are regulated by professional, statutory and regulatory bodies. These bodies engage with higher education providers as regulators on courses that provide a route through to their relevant profession or that are recognised by employers. This creates an additional element to the development of curricula for higher education providers as they have less autonomy over the content and assessment methodology, the quantity of content, and even in some cases the knowledge of the final results of their students. This seminar explores this in the context of Law. It also considers the challenges of developing a curriculum for a subject that is based on historical precedent and thereby replicates historical inequalities. This has a particularly large impact on professional Law courses, where the remit is to prepare students for the workplace, as opposed to academic Law courses which provide the student with the opportunity to look at Law in a more theoretical context. Finally, the seminar explores the practical barriers faced by higher education providers who deliver professional courses, when they are preparing students for a profession that is itself struggling with inequalities in terms of representation and practices. It will discuss structures and processes that can be put in place to ensure curricula are as inclusive as possible despite these challenges, covering the journey from design of materials, to delivery of teaching and monitoring of provision. The session will also consider any opportunities that may arise from inclusive curricular work, in particular from working with PSRBs, co-creating with students and working collaboratively with other higher education providers.  

Morag Duffin

Principal Lecturer in Product Design, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, The University of Law

Dr Morag Duffin is Head of Access and Participation at The University of Law, a specialist provider of legal and business courses with numerous campus across England and the world. Morag is responsible for ULaw’s work in supporting students from disadvantaged or under-represented backgrounds to access, succeed in and progress from Higher Education into employment. Morag is a qualified teacher and has over 10 years’ experience in Access and Participation work at a variety of educational institutions, spanning higher, secondary and primary education.