UDL Principles Matter: A Professional Development Framework for Higher Education Institutions

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a pedagogical model that promotes inclusive and accessible learning environments. UDL seeks to encourage equity in the teaching and learning process and addresses prevalent systematic learning barriers in education. There are evident gaps in implementing UDL effectively in universities and other tertiary institutions around the globe. Recent research conducted in North America revealed the need to (a) develop proven strategic frameworks for implementing university-wide adoption of UDL, (b) evaluate outcomes from the perspectives of all stakeholders, including educators and students and (c) explore how post-pandemic universities can adapt to meet UDL aims…1. Against this backdrop, the authors conducted a literature analysis to examine the perspectives of educators, students, and other stakeholders focusing on the barriers to implementing UDL. The literature analysis guided the development of a strategic framework for implementing UDL in tertiary institutions. We examined and synthesized global literature on UDL implementation published within the last seven years from 2016 to 2023. We used Khan’s2 five-step process to systematically review the literature to answer two research questions: (a) What is an ideal framework for implementing UDL, and (b) how can post-pandemic tertiary institutions tailor programs to achieve UDL aims? Systematic literature reviews allow scholars to summarize and synthesize available literature within predetermined search parameters and critically appraise and logically synthesize multiple primary studies3 on a given topic. We used Ravindran's (2019) inductive qualitative analysis model to analyze the literature data and recommend a professional development (PD) framework. This framework may help to (a) increase educators’ awareness of UDL principles, (b) reduce barriers to implementation, and (c) facilitate UDL adoption to promote inclusive and equitable education.