Overview of EDI THESIS Chapter
Issues of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are under increasing scrutiny in Higher Education, and in psychology as a discipline. The British Psychological Society’s latest strategic framework accentuates the need for psychology education to be more diverse and inclusive, in order to meet the needs of all students, and to contribute to making society a fairer, more welcome place for all. Psychology has a history of contributing to inequalities, but can also play an important role in identifying them and overcoming them. In the Royal Holloway Department of Psychology, we are developing a wide range of initiatives that are aimed at providing an inclusive education, recognising and celebrating the diversity among our students and staff, and enhancing equalities across all aspects of the work we do. We have:
- Established an equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) working group that meets periodically to identify and discuss solutions for EDI issues
- Started a project aimed at decolonising the psychology curriculum
- Been awarded silver Athena Swan accreditation for advancing gender equality within the department
- Co-created with students a Level 6 (final year undergraduate) option module, Psychology of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
- Established a position to lead in EDI-related pedagogic projects, via THESIS
Of particular importance to the THESIS team is to think about how we can use pedagogies (approaches to teaching) that are aligned with EDI principles, including collaboration and co-creation, transparency, empowerment of students, and honouring lived experiences. We want to ensure that our approach to EDI in pedagogy goes beyond managerial “legalese” that defers responsibility to individual lecturers, and instead is based on evidence from psychological and education literature, and from collaboration with our own students, and is something that all involved feel committed to and confident with.
In this section you will find information on:
- “Race” and ethnicity in HE
- Gender and sexualities
- Disabilities and neurodivergence
THESIS Group lead for ‘Wellbeing and EDI & Lead for Pedagogic Seminars’