¿Qué barreras existen para la inclusión en los servicios estudiantiles?

Cultural competence plays a significant role in breaking down barriers to inclusion in student services. Understanding and respecting students' diverse cultures, abilities, and learning styles is paramount. However, there are often unseen barriers to inclusion. These include societal attitudes, lack of accessible facilities, and a deficiency in understanding and awareness about special educational needs and disabilities among teachers and students. A culturally competent approach can help address these issues. One way to foster cultural competence is by integrating it into the curriculum and teacher training programs, equipping students and teachers with skills and knowledge to interact effectively with diverse groups.

Cultural competence is essential across all facets of human interaction and is especially critical within student services given the natural diversity of students in higher education in the 21st century. It is important to note that developing cultural competence first begins with understanding your own cultural self and how you relate to others. Building on cultural self-awareness allows individuals to better recognize and appreciate other individuals and their cultural selves. Through this developmental process cultural competence supports effective cross-cultural communication and collaboration through intentional efforts that are founded on mutual respect and understanding.

Having navigated through educational environments, I've witnessed the impact of cultural incompetence on student services. My experience underscores the significance of understanding, respecting, and responding to diverse student needs. In the absence of cultural competence, services risk overlooking specific challenges faced by underrepresented groups. From inadequate support for international students to neglecting LGBTQ+ or disabled students, the consequences are tangible. Investing in continuous training and policy evaluation is crucial, fostering an inclusive atmosphere where every student feels acknowledged and supported in their unique journey.

From experience English which is a mode of communication in schools is also a barrier at the same time. How we listen, interpret and speak English varies from one country to the other. Here is an example, Black Africans born in the Islands, Africa, the US, Europe and more speak different variations of English. I tell people I'm Ghanaian and they repeat "ah! Guyana" Staff being recruited for student services should demonstrate at interviews that they have lived in countries outside their country of birth. (Not holidays) Staff should be given inclusive training that goes beyond ticking boxes to enable them to recognise what is acceptable in diverse cultures, test their listening skills and check their body language in communicating.

Students' difficulties in accessing information and knowledge, in various situations, are represented by the way materials are presented, or even by the lack of personalization in conducting the teaching-learning process. However, some information and communication technology tools can help reduce these difficulties, and are essential for the development of students, especially for those who have difficulties in the teaching-learning process or some disability that prevents them from having easier access to content and materials made available, such as the audio tool in the discussion forums, used by Wyden Digital Teaching.

Many Student Services host events, where students will register. Communicating language like this (see our example below) is important but sometimes overlooked. Feedback welcome. "Please let us know If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) to fully participate in this activity. In addition to this form, your questions are welcome regarding this accommodation request and can be directed to Cal NERDS Executive Director Diana Lizarraga, ladiana@berkeley.edu) with as much notice as possible, ideally 7-10 days in advance of this event. Please put - Python Coding Boot Camp Accommodation - in the e-mail subject line. We look forward to connecting with you."

Communication between the teacher-tutor and the student is essential, especially for the student's personification. On different occasions, students, even in institutions and courses with their own model - in which the student appropriates the content and studies on their own - need greater support and attention from teacher-tutors, and in the form of attention and communication between teachers and students is fundamental, as communication can be done in different ways, whether using innovative or more traditional technological resources.

Malgré les efforts déployés, certains obstacles persistants entravent encore l'inclusion des étudiants en collaborant et coordonnant. Par exemple, l'utilisation de plateformes en ligne nécessitant un accès Internet peut exclure les étudiants défavorisés dont les ressources sont limitées. De plus, les différences de niveau d'aptitude et de compréhension peuvent rendre difficile la coopération entre les étudiants. En outre, certains étudiants peuvent être réticents à collaborer en raison de problèmes de communication ou de personnalités divergentes. Ces obstacles nécessitent une prise de conscience continue et des actions pour garantir une inclusion véritable dans les processus de collaboration et de coordination.

The work carried out in the educational environment must present collaboration, and comply with the mission and values inherent to the institution. Therefore, some activities such as research and extension - curricular and extracurricular - are essential to promote collaboration between teams, coordinations and other institutional sectors.

Education needs to work with feedback, as well as performance reports that promote improvements and enhancements in teaching-learning methodologies or, even, in the methodology itself to be used with students. Without this feedback, which will often occur with the work of multidisciplinary teams and Own Assessment Committees - CPA, there is no way to develop work that can, effectively, correlate with the development of the students.

The development of education in higher education, regardless of the format - face-to-face or distance learning - requires innovative models that implement successful practices, with feedback from students, employees and others involved in the teaching-learning process, and must be guided by compliance the mission and values of the institutions.