Unleashing The Power of UDL and CRT Within the Academy: An Unfolding Story

Book: Implementing Transformative Student-Centered Pedagogies in the Neoliberal Academy: Constraints and Opportunities by CSMFL Publications

Wendy L. Kraglund Gauthier1 , Paula Romanow2
1Yorkville University, Cananda; 2St. Francis Xavier University, Canada.

10.46679/9789349926912ch07
This chapter is a part of: Implementing Transformative Student-Centered Pedagogies in the Neoliberal Academy: Constraints and Opportunities
ISBN (Ebook): 978-93-49926-91-2
ISBN (Hardcover Print): 978-93-49926-11-0
ISBN (Softcover Print): 978-93-49926-31-8

© CSMFL Publications & its authors.
Published: May 05, 2026

Gauthier, W. L. K. & Romanow, P. (2026). Unleashing The Power of UDL and CRT Within the Academy: An Unfolding Story. In F. Fovet, Implementing Transformative Student-Centered Pedagogies in the Neoliberal Academy: Constraints and Opportunities (pp 159-184). CSMFL Publications. https://dx.doi.org/10.46679/9789349926912ch07

Abstract

This chapter is a discussion on how universal design for learning and culturally responsive teaching can not only enhance but also transform post-secondary students’ learning experiences. It includes lessons learned through research, field work, and activities to bring colleagues accustomed to working in face-to-face classrooms into digital learning spaces that maintain alignment with effective learning pedagogy and UDL principles. The storying of these lessons is made through the lens of adult education, instructional design, and lived experiences. Woven throughout are acknowledgements of how pressures from the neoliberal academy bump up against educators’ efforts to create pedagogical spaces from which deep understanding and transformational learning can emerge.

Keywords: Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Culturally Responsive Teaching, Post-Secondary Education, Digital Learning Spaces, Transformational Learning, Instructional Design, Neoliberalism in Higher Education

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