University teaching staff’s understanding of cooperation in inclusive higher education

This work describes a cooperative-oriented approach within higher education concerning inclusion and diversity. Exploring university teaching staff’s views on cooperation, the study aims to deepen understanding of the challenges and contributions of cooperation, as refracted through the lens of Allport’s intergroup contact theory. Participants were 11 university teachers in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) who responded to an open-ended, qualitative survey conducted via email. Thematic framework analysis, applying both inductive and deductive approaches, identified four interrelated themes: Cooperative Status, Goal, Cooperative Interactions and Support. The findings offer insights into how university teaching staff in the context understand and perceive practice cooperation, highlighting both the strengths and challenges of their efforts to promote inclusion. Overall, the findings indicate that teaching staff view cooperation as both a traditional stance and a driver of change, underscoring its significance for inclusive education. The main objections relate to a lack of support, insufficient cooperative skills and inconsistencies in laws and regulations. While the findings reveal positive contributions of cooperation for inclusion, they also suggest that a truly equitable cooperative culture, particularly one grounded in recognition, is essential for the sustainable implementation of cooperation, rather than superficial or short-term contact. Implications for research and practice are also discussed.