With those whom I love, I engage in a pedagogy of the heart. If I am not inclusive, I wrestle with a clash of minds. This is a personal reflection I made upon receiving the news that the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology was awarded the Equality Mark by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality. While celebrating the positive outcome, on the same day, MCAST issued a guidebook that aims to direct community members toward the use of more inclusive words in communication. Any document, policy, or practice on inclusion should speak more to the heart rather than the mind.

This contribution does not give answers but rather generates questions. We need to question structures. We need to question practices. We need to question cultures. We need to question our words and actions. Allow me therefore to suggest a list of 7 continua. I put these forward for a personal reflection on where our communities in general – and our educational institutions in particular – stand along that particular continuum.

Vision and mission vs rights and responsibilities

Is inclusion part of the vision and mission of a community or educational institution? Or does it mostly tap at (or at times disorient) rights and responsibilities? An inclusive community nurtures cohesion, togetherness. We are truly living a time when choice is one of the mantras. Our life is full of choices (or so we are made to believe). Some matters can be left to choice. But certain things are not up for choice in a society built on care. Certain things are not up for choice more so in an inclusive society. Certain things are not up for choice even more so in an educational community. For example we surely need to choose to include, we surely need to choose to care, we surely need to choose to love. We cannot have the right not to include, not to care, not to love.

Sectoral belonging vs collective belonging

We all yearn to belong. The need for belonging is a basic need. Various groups are present in society. Some are dominant groups while others are minority groups, marginalized groups, disadvantaged groups. Where do we ally ourselves? Should a particular group be presented as the norm? Can there be a norm? Should there be a norm? How is our community nurturing belonging? How does inclusion feature in the authentic branding of an educational institution?

Individual vs community

Including the different groups in a community is not about me. It does not place me at the centre. It places the other person or group at the centre. Inclusion is different from integration. Inclusion in a community requires the determined effort of all the members of the community. It is all about the collective us that we wish to nurture in our community as opposed to the atomization reproduced by the dominant forces of society. True educators are everything but egoistic. True educators nurture the collective. They do not create isolated fortresses.

Occurring by chance vs deliberate action

Education is full of deliberate choices – curricular choices. The curriculum is a site of contestation. Different groups create pressure to try and influence what is in the curriculum. This is not only true for the written curriculum but also for the hidden curriculum and the way we live the different curricular experiences during our learning opportunities. When you believe in something you actively promote it. If we believe in having an inclusive community we have to collectively, deliberately, work for it.

Absolute fixed mindset vs work in progress

Through the use of an unfortunately chosen word, one might understandably err while speaking. We might need time to improve our impromptu spoken utterances. But being constantly evaluative is of utmost importance for those who hold the value of inclusion at heart. The words used are evidence of an inclusive attitude or the lack of it. MCAST has furthermore issued a document that is an aid while acting and reflecting. The document, like any other document – but perhaps more so, is constantly up for review, especially since the meaning of words changes over time. What is surely a nonstarter for an inclusive community are actions stemming from prejudice. Therefore one surely needs to ask: What is ultimately guiding my actions even at a subconscious level? How much of a lifelong, life-broad, and life-wide learner am I?

Continuity vs change

“It was always done that way.” “We always spoke that way.” “We always used those words.” “This emphasis on inclusion is uncalled for.” “This emphasis on using inclusive words is excessive.” “Why all this fuss on a word?” It does not mean that it was right and the MCAST community, and any other community worthy of its calling, is on a continuous journey of improvement. How willing am I to be led by other community members during a discussion on the type of inclusive community we should have? There are others who are more knowledgeable, more experienced, or colleagues serving a particular role in the community. How am I interacting with them?

Authenticity vs make-believe

Is inclusion a guiding principle or is it mandatory? Do I have to follow documents that are aimed at enhancing inclusive practices? Are they guidelines? Or are they mandatory? I believe that I do not need to be told that respect is mandatory because I have been brought up with respect. I believe that I do not need a document to be inclusive because that is the basis of every true community. When we fight inner battles with our prejudices is when we start to lose our naturalness. If deep down we are inclusive, we can speak and act naturally. We are unlikely to err. And when we err, the victims of our mistakes almost automatically forgive us because they know, feel, and have witnessed our authenticity and can thus place any slip within a wider context of positive inclusive practices.

It is ultimately a matter of attitudes. Educational institutions are constantly harping on learning outcomes pertaining to knowledge, skills, and competencies. Little do we stop to reflect on the importance that attitudes have on competence building. Attitudes are difficult to measure. Due to our fixation on measuring performance, we have side-lined anything which hints at attitudes and values. They cannot be measured and so they have slowly evaporated from policies and guiding documents. Is it time to bring them to the fore again? What importance are we giving to attitudes and values?

MCAST continues its journey of continuous improvement in its inclusive practices, boosted by the NCPE Equality Mark achieved and aided by the inclusive language guidebook. Our community life is a work in progress. We make the road by walking.

Author: Mr Reuben Mifsud. Deputy Director for Continuous Professional Development at the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology (MCAST).