Enacting Inclusivity Through Engaged Pedagogy: A Higher Education Perspective

The purpose of this article is to describe a curricular change process used to incorporate inclusivity and diversity in a Higher Education Ph.D. program. The efforts of faculty members and students to practice engaged pedagogy as advocated by bell hooks are also described. Accounts from two agents, a professor and assistant professor working in the graduate program, of the re-envisioning and development processes focus on three types of changes: strategic administrative actions, curricular change, and pedagogical change. The authors use critical race and feminist perspectives and personal narratives to describe their experiences and how these led to incorporating radical and transformative perspectives in the classroom as they worked collaboratively with students to recognize various kinds of racism, sexism, and inequalities in their lives at the university and in society. Students were supported to find dissertation methodologies and topics consistent with their values.