Our institutions, and all actors within and communities connected to them, must embrace and universally practice “relentless inclusivity” to authentically affirm, value and support every student as they navigate the daily ups and downs of continuous transitionary states into and across university and beyond. Sally Kift, 2025
Inclusion should be more than just a a checklist or compliance exercise. At the recent First and Further Year Experience (FFYE) Forum, academics and professional staff positioned it as an ongoing, relational and agentic practice – one that requires reflection, confidence and structural support.
Agency in practising inclusion
Franziska Trede kicked things off with a focus on the role of agency in social justice education. She noted that universities are experiencing multiple, intersecting pressures and a growing identity crisis. In this environment, inclusion and social justice cannot be peripheral work; it is central to how universities understand their role and responsibilities. What is required is action grounded in agency – the capacity to act and not feel helpless within complex systems.
Knowledge alone does not enable action; it must be supported by conditions that make action possible. In higher education, this includes leadership support, collegial cultures, a perceived sense of permission and material resources. Without these, calls for inclusive practice risk placing responsibility on individuals but don’t address the environments that constrain them.
Drawing on social psychological research, 4 interrelated forms of agency were presented:
- Existential – as a fundamental human drive to act
- Pragmatic – in the moment, when routine practice cannot solve a problem
- Identity – keeping personal autonomy in routine situations
- Life-course – at crucial points in time based on deep reflection to achieve long-term goal
Understanding agency in these terms helps explain why some students and staff struggle to act, and how teaching and institutional practices can either enable or diminish their capacity to do so.
These ideas were explored further in a six‑week micro‑credential, Practising Inclusion: Working and Teaching Towards Social Justice. In moving beyond awareness‑raising to a focus on action, participants designing a social justice or inclusive practice action plan relevant to their own context. Entry points that strengthened participants’ move from intention to action were identified as: role modelling; assessment tasks for learning; Indigenous engagement; theory and scholarship; and making a difference.
Inclusion in practice
A diverse range of UTS staff – the first 4 of whom are all alumni from the ‘Practising Inclusion’ course – showcased examples demonstrating how agency can be exercised in everyday teaching and professional contexts:
- Simone Faulkner (Business School) used structured group work to expand students’ interaction networks and reflective assessments to challenge assumptions about bias and privilege.
- Kylie Garratt (Jumbanna) strengthened cultural awareness training for tutors who support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students by using an Indigenous‑led co‑design approach to develop culturally grounded training materials in Canvas.
- Lesley Mcnab (Faculty of Health) described the redesign of mental health teaching resources to move away from Eurocentric, deficit‑focused representations, with new case studies co‑produced with students, clinicians and people with lived experience.
- Kevin Millingham (Education Portfolio) brought a learning designer perspective, illustrating how learning materials can be positively enhanced with design elements such as inclusivity statements, pronoun practices, a statement of positionality and support resources.
- Natalie Bradbury (Student Experience Director) presented on her team’s redesign of onboarding communications to reduce information overload and normalise help‑seeking behaviour. Supported by student‑created videos, the revamped ‘Welcome’ email journeys led to increased engagement, while consolidated guides and clearer pathways reduced barriers for new students.
In a break-out room activity, staff attending the forum shared their inclusive approaches, which included:
- using studio‑based, relational teaching to build belonging
- personalised communication to check student confidence and progress
- name‑learning and small‑group structures in large classes
- integration of support protocols for sensitive or triggering content
- reconfiguring case studies for cultural richness
- community‑building events, chaplaincy programs and cross‑cultural activities
- peer programs using multiple modes, scaffolding, and icebreakers
Student Perspectives
But what does Inclusive Practice look like for students? This question was presented to the forum’s student panel, consisting of Lovisa Pehrsson Gavel, Jonathan Morel, Nour El-Zmeter and Sione Puloka, and warmly facilitated by Betty Mekonnon.
The students emphasised that inclusion is experienced through how teaching happens, not just what is taught. Practices that supported inclusion included low‑pressure participation options, tutors who learn students’ names and being offered multiple ways to engage with content. Barriers included rushed teaching, dismissive responses to questions, limited responsiveness outside class, and rigid reliance on formal accessibility processes that can be slow to navigate. The students emphasised that small actions such as acknowledging questions, providing breaks or offering alternative formats can have a significant impact on belonging and confidence.
Inclusion as a shared responsibility
A recurring theme was that inclusive practice is everyone’s responsibility. While leadership and policy are important, meaningful change does not only flow from the top down. Tutors, professional staff and students all contribute to cultures that either enable or constrain agency. This agency can be exercised through everyday decisions, relationships and practices. It also requires environments with practices that invite participation and structures that legitimise action.
By connecting theory, reflective practice and lived experience, the FFYE Forum demonstrated how educators and institutions can move beyond awareness towards sustained, socially just action.
The FFYE Forum was facilitated by FFYE Program Coordinator Kathy Egea and Senior Lecturer Beate Muller. Thanks to Jo McKenzie, Sonal Singh, Franziska Trede and Melinda Lewis for their support and ideas in the planning stages, plus Janet Wang for operational assistance on the day of the forum.