The contrary nature of ‘differentiation’ in higher education

For some time, there has been an emphasis on the death of the traditional lecture as a teaching resource, and the growth and abundance of literature on differentiated and inclusive learning and assessment strategies since The Dearing Report in 1997. And the implementation of governance processes that monitor such strategies, which are bound up in the language of differentiated learning and teaching, illustrate the fervour for the adoption of such principles. Notions of educational progressivism and instrumentalism (Dewey, 2011) have sought to make higher education more accessible and democratic (Armitage et al., 2001) and are specifically aimed at reducing student attrition rates by appealing to a wide variety of ‘different’ learning styles (Honey & Mumford, 1982). In consideration of matters on curriculum, assessments, and quality assurance, this initial paper looks at how three selective higher education session outlines have elements of assessment and feedback strategies that match with current trends of inclusive democratic pedagogic theories and asks if this should be the case or whether differentiated curriculum and assessment strategies, and the regulation surrounding their momentum, is just as fundamentally divisive as traditional approaches. This paper presents work in progress and the initial phase of a larger piece of work that sets out to critically interrogate more broadly ‘differentiation’ as an institutional driver but for the present is a provisional call for learners and teachers to make it their daily practice to question and act upon the social and cultural structures that dominate higher education and the academy, and instead both expect and appreciate excellence without transcending the notion that different parallel knowledges of excellence exist.

Armitage, A., Bryant, R., Dunnill, R., Flanagan, K., Hayes, D., Hudson, A., & Renwick, M. (2001). Teaching and training in post-compulsory education. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Biggs, J. B., & Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university. Maidenhead: Open University Press / McGraw-Hill Education.

Canterbury Christ Church University. (2012a). Strategic plan 2011–2015. Retrieved from http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/AboutUs/Sp.aspx

Canterbury Christ Church University. (2012b). Assessment handbook. Retrieved from http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/Support/learning-teaching-enhancement-un...

Canterbury Christ Church University. (2012c). Our values. Retrieved from http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/AboutUs/our-values.aspx

Dearing, R. (1997). The Dearing report: Higher education in the learning society. Retrieved from http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/dearing1997/dearing1997...

Derrida, J. (1978). Writing and difference. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press.

Dewey, J. (2011). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. USA: Simon & Brown.

Ecclestone, K., Hayes, D., & Furedi, F. (2005). Knowing me, knowing you: The rise of therapeutic professionalism in the education of adults. Studies in the Education of Adults, 37(2), 182–200.

Evans, M. (1997). Introducing contemporary feminist thought. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Fry, H., Ketteridge, S., & Marshall, S. (1999). A handbook for teaching and learning in higher education: Enhancing academic practice. London: Kogan Page.

Furedi, F. (2006). Where have all the intellectuals gone? (2nd ed.). London: Continuum.
Grace, S., & Gravestock, P. (2009). Inclusion and diversity: Meeting the needs of all students. Oxon: Routledge.
Honey, P., & Mumford, A. (1982). The manual of learning styles. Maidenhead: Peter Honey.

hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. New York: Routledge.

hooks, b. (2010). Teaching critical thinking: Practice wisdom. New York: Routledge.

Hussey, T., & Smith, P. (2010). The trouble with higher education: A critical examination of our universities. New York: Routledge.

Mill, J. S. (2001). Utilitarianism (2nd ed.). USA: Hackett Publishing Company.

Open Education. (2009). At MIT – The slow death of the classroom lecture. Retrieved from http://www.openeducation.net/2009/01/14/at-mit-the-slow-death-of-the...

Said, E. (1978). Orientalism: Western conceptions of the Orient. London: Penguin.

Young, M. (1970). The Rise of the Meritocracy 1870–2033: An essay on education and equality. New Impression Edition. London: Penguin Books Ltd.