Educators’ perceptions and practices of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in New Zealand primary schools

This research investigates educators’ implementation and perceptions of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework within New Zealand’s primary education sector, with a view to understanding how UDL promotes inclusive educational environments. Central to the study are three pivotal questions related to: how teachers utilise UDL in their practice, the benefits they perceive from employing UDL, and the challenges encountered in its implementation. Employing Bernstein’s (2000) concept of recontextualisation, the study navigates the complexities of adapting UDL to New Zealand’s educational landscape. The research identifies a critical ambiguity in UDL’s operational application. This ambiguity lies in the range of educator engagement, which spans from broad philosophical understandings to detailed engagements with guidelines and checkpoints. Furthermore, the study highlights a significant gap in educators’ need for enhanced General Pedagogical Knowledge (GPK) and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) to apply UDL eff. While UDL has a solid knowledge base, there remains a need for additional procedural knowledge to facilitate its tangible application in the classroom. The endeavour to implement UDL within the context of New Zealand’s curriculum reveals a complex challenge as educators grapple with reconciling high curriculum expectations with the imperative for inclusivity. This often results in increased workload and superficial engagement with UDL principles, highlighting systemic difficulties in achieving educational equity without diluting academic standards. Despite these challenges, this study showcases educators’ inventive strategies for adapting UDL principles, including customising accessibility, employing multiple modes of instruction, and scaffolding goal setting. Future research could focus on evaluating the efficacy of UDL training programs and their impact on teaching methods and student achievements, particularly assessing the effectiveness of the professional development of UDL. Additionally, ...