How do I engage with the institution?

When you zoom out of the micro context discussed in Engagement 3, you arrive at the meso context which describes the institutional level. When we analyse at the level of institutions, we often encounter terms such as institutionalised, systemic, and structural. What these terms have in common is that they indicate that recurrence of certain patterns is not always incidental. These patterns are instead outcomes of the way in which an institution is organised. Furthermore, these patterns and outcomes recurrently affect specific people negatively. As with earlier instances, the reverse can also be observed: some people enjoy a position of privilege or recurring benefits. These recurrences can be traced back to the institutional level. After all, an institution is made up of people and thus a reflection of their views. But whose views? This is an important implication for online inclusive education because it means that teachers must consider how an institution is not experienced as a neutral space for all students.

This engagement will allow you to reflect on the interplay between different institutions, and what this means for individuals in higher education institutions. Before looking at concrete instances of such interactions, it is useful to expand on the meso context and what it exactly entails.

Concept

Institutions can be found in a society and are manifestations of the values, ideas, priorities, politics, identities, and traditions that can be distilled from the dominant discourses. An institution can be any kind of organisation – especially one that has an important societal role, such as a government, church, or school.

A higher education institution is where most formal learning activities for adults take place, but it is influenced by other prominent institutions in the society it is located. The government’s policies on higher education, moral codes prescribed by religion, and the gender policy of the university are all examples of conditions set by different institutions. To illustrate the mutual shaping happening between institutions, you can see them as connected cogs; when one cog turns, the others also turn with it. When one of these cogs turns significantly with connected cogs following suit, we can speak of systemic change which has community impact. Shifts at the institutional level produce outcomes that leave an indelible mark on the communities that those institutions reach and the social fabric.

Scenario

During one of your online debates the subject of homosexuality and religion comes up. Some students explain that homosexuality does not comply with their religious beliefs. Another student, who identifies as gay, chimes in by saying that they find this to be discriminatory. The other students maintain that they have the right to follow their own beliefs and they cannot be forced to change their stance. This leads to a discussion about discrimination in the virtual classroom.

Challenge (10 minutes)

Sometimes difficult topics arise, which can be very uncomfortable to discuss. Yet, students rely on their teacher to keep the classroom safe and inclusive. Reflect on the role you take on during such hot moments.

In this scenario, you could say that there is also a tension between different institutions and their ideologies. Think of what this means for your role. Try to use the proposed insights and the concepts in the analysis for your reflection. Writing your answers down can help your reflection process. Use the prompts below to guide your thoughts.

Prompts

What role do you take on when difficult conversations in the classroom occur?
Do you think it is important to remain neutral? How do you stay neutral?
How do your personal beliefs regarding these themes, i.e., the way you relate to the ideologies of these institutions, affect how you engage with this hot moment?
Do you think your personal stance is pertinent to such discussions? Why (not)?
Do you tend to avoid discussing difficult conversations? Why (not)?
How do your students feel about having difficult conversations?
In what ways is addressing a difficult topic different in an online environment when compared to an in-person setting? What do you have to consider in order to maintain a safe, inclusive learning environment?

How do you think your students perceive your position and perspective regarding this situation?
What do you think classroom participants (including yourself) can learn about this situation?
How might different students experience this situation? How do you think this impacts them in the setting of the virtual classroom? How can you find out?
How can you use digital approaches to your advantage in this situation?

Example

In this challenge your analysis and observations are central. The concept section already provides a concrete explanation for the meso context, so instead of a mock answer this example section shares some considerations for your answer.

Consider…

… how the issue raised by the student touches upon multiple institutions and their effect on social dynamics.
… the ways in which different institutions influence each other.
… what the implications might be for people who challenge institutional ideologies.
… how the virtual education environment affects the way in which difficult conversations and hot moments play out.
… how the virtual education environment might require different approaches to navigate difficult conversations and hot moments.

Learn

This particular scenario touches on the role of institutions in producing certain social dynamics which can lead to moments of friction. Gaining a better understanding of the myriad ways in which tensions can arise in the online classroom requires an understanding of how to go about those situations. You can then develop an awareness of how your approach can have a positive effect for students’ experience of the classroom environment. From this awareness, teachers may then develop the competence to intervene in moments of friction effectively.

The micro-learning module ‘Turn Moments of Friction into Moments of Learning’ is a learning resource which helps turn such instances into moments of learning to prevent the behaviour that led to the moment of friction to be repeated. Also see Guideline 5 ‘Create an inclusive digital learning climate’ in our Handbook of e-Inclusion.