Conference Program

In a progressively more varied educational landscape where socio-educational inequalities are increasingly evident, planning for diversity and utilizing inclusive evidence-based approaches becomes fundamental in ensuring everyone’s participation and success (OECD, 2023). In this respect, the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework offers a notable contribution, as it centers on the learner, their choices and educational trajectories. More specifically, UDL is funded on the concept of natural learner variability and revolving around the idea of removing barriers from the curriculum, planning for such variability and having each pupil´s preferences and needs become an integral part of their learning process (Meyer & Rose, 2014)

Both international and national research has demonstrated positive effects of UDL, more specifically various studies have reported increased performance and learning outcomes in various subjects and across grades (Almeqdad et al., 2023; Ok et al., 2017). Similar positive effects have also been observed regarding other outcomes, such as students’ engagement (Sokal & Katz, 2015). These effects specifically are fundamental to the UDL framework itself as it does not concentrate on students’ capabilities but instead underlines their continued development as “expert learners”. These are pupils who develop characteristics such as: motivation, self-efficacy and self-esteem, (Meyer & Rose, 2014). However, while an increase in the first has been observed in various studies, literature has generally not focused on the effects of UDL on the other characteristics mentioned or to other aspects of students’ socioemotional development (Kapoor, 2024). Notably, such qualities are not only important within the UDL framework but have been found to have vital implications for students’ educational outcomes. Furthermore, disparities in such characteristics between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds have also been observed and further perpetrate educational inequities (Huang, 2011; Jansen et al., 2015; Paulus et al., 2021).

The current study aims to examine how students’ socioemotional development is impacted when UDL is utilized in the classroom. It is expected that UDL can foster such development and consequently reduce educational inequity. The study will involve pupils from grade 5 in primary school and their teachers. Additionally, it will employ a mixed methods approach, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative instruments to measure children's socioemotional development. For example, children´s self-concept will be measured through a validated self-report questionnaire: the third edition of the Piers‑Harris Self-Concept Scale (Piers et al., 2023); while engagement will be assessed through class observations. Teachers will receive specialized UDL training and will be then asked to implement it in their classroom. The training’s main purpose is for teachers to acquire not only knowledge of the framework but also engage them in the design of lessons and learning units following its principles. Moreover, the study will include semi-structured interviews with teachers so to understand how they used UDL within the classroom and possible changes in their professional role and instructional decision-making during the implementation. During the conference, the author will present in more detail both the design of the study, its procedures, materials and the training devised for participating teachers.