Ramdeo, Janet ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2744-8572 (2024) Implementing and evaluating an inclusive curriculum framework to enhance racial representation in performing arts programmes. In: SEDA Autumn Conference 2024: New Challenges for Educational Development - National and International Perspectives, 28th November, 2024, Online.

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Abstract

Enhancing racial representation in performing arts curricula remains an area of conversation. Our university’s Inclusive Curriculum Framework, created and piloted in 2022/23, became the required tool to identify necessary changes to curriculum design, delivery and assessment in the School of Acting. With the support of a SEDA Research and Evaluation Small Grant (2023), this project looked to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing the Inclusive Curriculum Framework, in part designed to enhance racial and ethnic representation across curricula. Adopting the Critical Race Theory (CRT) tenet of centralising the voices of people of colour, narrative inquiry was utilised to interview fifteen racially minoritised final year undergraduate and postgraduate racially minoritised students to understand ethnic and racial curricula omissions through their training experiences. Findings illuminated learning experiences that lacked racial authenticity, perceived disadvantage in casting decisions and experiences of stereotyping and essentialising. Findings also highlighted the different challenges faced by home students and international students. However, their experiences could improve with more external diverse creatives contributing to their learning and developing staff’s racial awareness. Implementing the framework enabled the School of Acting’s staff to identify meaningful actions towards delivering inclusive and anti-racist pedagogies, practices and programmes. Areas identified as key for development include (but not limited to) replicating and implementing the methodology of this research project as standard in student voice capture, specific modifications to curriculum design to ensure diverse acting and performance teaching practices for authentic learning experiences, creating a bank of diverse creatives as contacts and community of practice to be invited in to enhance representation and authenticity of training and creating opportunities for staff to complete or refresh training to enhance their racial awareness. The Inclusive Curriculum Framework successfully provided the mechanism for sustainable and authentic changes, by centralising racially minoritised students’ voices to be the key driver.

Item Type:	Conference or Conference Paper (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	representation, decolonising the curriculum, performing arts
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) L Education > L Education (General) N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Education (EDU)
Last Modified:	13 Feb 2026 16:02
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/52486

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