Inclusive practices in higher education based on universal design for learning. The voice of the student body

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55777/rea.v18i36.8034

Keywords:

Inclusive Education, DUA, Higher Education, Teaching Strategies, Inclusion

Abstract

The growing interest in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in higher education identifies it as a key strategy to respond to students' needs and preferences from an inclusive perspective. In order to design inclusive university policies, curricula and curriculum planning, it is necessary to have the voice of the student from the outset. This study explores 33 teaching strategies aligned with Universal Design for Learning and the preferences expressed by university students regarding their implementation. The study involved 1109 university students from the Faculty of Education Sciences of an Ecuadorian university institution. A quantitative approach has been followed, adopting a descriptive design, using a survey for data collection. The results show the students' high preference for these strategies to advance in their academic achievements, regardless of age, gender, degree, disability and/or personal situation, which reflects the universality of these strategies. The conclusions highlight this type of studies to design curricula taking into account the diversity of the student body, as well as their usefulness for making better decisions when designing institutional policies and/or acquiring equipment and resources that serve the interests of the student body.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Rosa Espada Chavarria, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, España

Profesora e investigadora en el Departamento de Ciencias de la Educación de la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Doctora por la Universidad de Salamanca en métodos para avanzar en la investigación sobre discapacidad y licenciada en Ciencias de la Educación. Es miembro del grupo de investigación de alto rendimiento, DIVERSIA, donde desarrolla sus intereses científicos en Educación Inclusiva, Personas con Discapacidad, Accesibilidad Universal y Estrategias Didácticas para el desarrollo de competencias a través del Diseño Universal para el Aprendizaje.

 

Wendy Aguilera Zamora, Universidad Técnica de Machala, Ecuador

Teacher and researcher at the Technical University of Machala. She holds a PhD in Education, as well as a degree in Education Sciences (with specialisation in Early Stimulation and Early Intervention), in Child Development and Early Intervention, and in Special Educational Needs in Early Childhood and Primary Education (both with a master's degree). Coordinator of the Degree in Basic Education at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Her research interests include inclusive education, diversity and the use of playful and inclusive methodologies and strategies.

References

Ainscow, M. (2020). Promoting inclusion and equity in education: lessons from international experiences. The Nordic Journal of Studies on Educational Policy, 6(1), 7-16. org/10.1080/20020317.2020.1729587

Alba-Pastor, C. (2019). Diseño Universal para el Aprendizaje: un modelo teórico-práctico para una educación inclusiva de calidad. Participación y mejora educativa, 6(9), 55-68. http://tinyurl.com/2k5v2yjh

Barrera, M., Márquez C., Sánchez, S. y Moliner, O. (2025). Movilizando el DUA: recomendaciones tecnológicas para la inclusión desde los servicios de apoyo de universidades españolas. Aula Abierta, 54(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.17811/rifie.20815

Barrera, M. y Moliner, O. (2023). ‘How does universal design for learning help me to learn?’: students with autism spectrum disorder voices in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 49(6), 899-912. http://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2259932

Bisquerra, R. (2004). Metodología de la investigación educativa. Editorial La Muralla.

Cabero, J. y Valencia, R. (2019). TIC para la inclusión: una mirada desde Latinoamérica. Aula Abierta, 48(2), 139-146. https://doi.org/10.17811/rifie.48.2.2019.139-146

Carballo, R., Moriña, A. y Castellano-Beltrán, A. (2024). Learning from faculty members who carry out inclusive pedagogy in Spanish universities: the importance of accessible methodologies and resources. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 21(1), 43-60.

Cárdenas, G. y Vega, MJ. (2019). El portafolio como estrategia de autorregulación en el desarrollo de competencias profesionales de los estudiantes. (2019). Revista InvestigiumIRE, 10(1), 21-37. https://doi.org/10.15658/INVESTIGIUMIRE.191001.03

Casebolt, T. y Humphrey, K. 2023. Use of universal design for learning principles in a public health course. Annals of Global Health 89(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.4045

CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 3.0. Center for Applied Special Technology. https://udlguidelines.cast.org/more/about-guidelines-3-0/

Castellano-Beltrán, A., Moriña, A. y Carballo, R. (2024). La Tecnología Educativa como Herramienta Inclusiva para los Estudiantes con Discapacidad: Experiencias de Profesores Universitarios Españoles. Revista Brasileira de Educaçao Especial, 30(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-54702024v30e0180

Diaz-Vega, M., Moreno-Rodríguez, R. y López-Bastías, J. L. (2020). Educational inclusion through the universal design for learning: Alternatives to teacher training. Education Sciences, 10(11). 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10110303

Espada-Chavarria, R., González-Montesino, R.H., López-Bastías, J.L. y Díaz-Vega, M. (2023). Universal design for learning and instruction: Effective strategies for inclusive higher education. Education Sciences 13(6) 1-14. doi:10.3390/educsci13060620.

Espada-Chavarría, R., Moreno-Rodríguez, R., López-Bastías, JL. y Díaz-Vega, M. (2022). Guía para la autoevaluación de estrategias docentes inclusivas. En Patrimonio Cultural e Inclusión Social: Marco Pedagógico y Guía para la Autoevaluación de Estrategias Docentes Inclusivas (pp.79–84). Editorial Octaedro. http://doi.org/10.36006/09502

Gale, T., Mills, C. y Cross, R. (2017). Socially inclusive teaching: Belief, design, action as pedagogic work. Journal of Teacher Education, 68(3), 345-356. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487116685754

Garrad, T.A. and H. Nolan. 2023. Rethinking higher education unit design: Embedding universal design for learning in online studies. Student Success 14 (1) ,1-8. doi:10.5204/ssj.2300.

Global Education Monitoring Report Team (2023). SDG 4 mid-term progress review: progress since 2015 has been far too slow. UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.54676/NLOV8340

Ley Orgánica Reformatoria a la Ley Orgánica de Educación Superior, LOES. R.O. N.º. 297, Suplemento, de 02 de agosto de 2018. https://www.ces.gob.ec/documentos/Normativa/LOES.pdf

Messiou, K. (2019). Las voces ausentes: el alumnado como catalizador para promover la educación inclusiva. Revista Internacional de Educación Inclusiva, 23 (7-8), 768-781. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1623326

Moriña, A., Carballo, R. y Doménech, A. (2025). Transforming higher education: a systematic review of faculty training in UDL and its benefits. Teaching in Higher Education, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2025.2465994

Okai-Ugbaje, S., Ardzejewska, K. y Imran, A. (2022). A mobile learning framework for higher education in resource constrained environments. Education and Information Technologies, 27, 11947-11969. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11094-5

Orozco, I. y Moriña, A. (2019). Prácticas Docentes para una Pedagogía Inclusiva en Educación Primaria: Escuchando las voces del Profesorado. Aula Abierta, 48(3), 331-338. https://doi.org/10.17811/rifie.48.3.2019.331-338

Quílez-Robres, A., Moyano, N. y Cortés-Pascual, A. (2024). Estilos de enseñanza-aprendizaje e influencia en la motivación y la autoestima. Revista de Estilos de Aprendizaje, 17(33), 12–23. https://doi.org/10.55777/rea.v17i33.4242

Reyes, C. T., Lawrie, G. A., Thompson, C. D. y Kyne S. H. (2022). “Every little thing that could possibly be provided helps”: analysis of online first-year chemistry resources using the universal design for learning framework. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 23, 385-407. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1rp00171j

Rubio M. M. (2022). Las tecnologías digitales al servicio del diseño universal para el aprendizaje. JONED. Journal of Neuroeducation, 3(1), 119-124. https://doi.org/10.1344/joned.v3i1.39658

Sánchez-Fuentes, S. (2023). El diseño universal para el aprendizaje: guía práctica para el profesorado. Narcea Ediciones.

Sánchez, S. y Alvear, V. (2024, noviembre). Pautas de Diseño Universal para el Aprendizaje (versión 3.0). ON Inclusion. Grupo de Innovación, Diversidad y Formación Docente Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. https://www.oninclusion.es/pautas-de-diseno-universal-para-el-aprendizaje/

Sánchez Fuentes, S. y Duk, C. (2022). La importancia del entorno. Diseño universal para el aprendizaje contextualizado. Revista Latinoamericana de Educación Inclusiva, 16(2), 21-31. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-73782022000200021

Shah, M., Bennett, A. y Southgate, E. (2016). Widening higher education participation. A global perspective. Chandos Publishing- Elsevier.

Stefos, E. y Chávez, C. (2023). Educational gaps in Ecuador: The case of the university-educated population. Revista Scientific, 8(28), 230-244. https://doi.org/10.29394/Scientific.issn.2542-2987.2023.8.28.12.230-244

UNESCO. 2015. Education 2030. Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action. UNESCO.

UNESCO. 2025. (21 de febrero de 2025). Qué debe saber acerca de la inclusión en la educación https://www.unesco.org/es/inclusion-education/need-know

Varela, C. y Dans, I. (2024). Evaluación innovadora en Educación Superior. Revista De Estilos De Aprendizaje, 17(33), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.55777/rea.v17i33.4497

PORTADA_VOLUMEN 18, NÚMERO 36

Downloads

Published

2025-10-22

How to Cite

Espada Chavarria, R., & Aguilera Zamora, W. (2025). Inclusive practices in higher education based on universal design for learning. The voice of the student body. Journal of Learning Styles, 18(36), 104–118. https://doi.org/10.55777/rea.v18i36.8034

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 36 (2025): Universal Design for Learning as a measure of attention to diversity

Section

THEMATIC RESEARCH ARTICLES. Volume 18, Number 36 (October, 2025)_Universal Design for Learning as a measure of attention to diversity.

License

By submitting the original, the author(s) declare that they are aware of and accept, in full, the privacy policy as well as the copyright of the Learning Styles Magazine.

The Learning Styles Magazine offers free and open access to its content, completely free of charge, in order to bring scientific research to its readers and society in general. All digital contents are free and open access and are published under a Creative Commons license:

Rights are granted under the Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-SinObraDerivada 4.0 Internacional (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0) 

The Learning Styles Magazine is an open access journal. Publication of articles or reviews in the Journal does not entitle you to any remuneration. For authors as well as readers, the journal is free Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-SinObraDerivada 4.0 Internacional (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0).

With this licence, the reproduction and dissemination of the contents of the magazine for educational, social and knowledge transmission purposes is permitted, without any profit motive in mind, provided that the source and authorship are not modified. The licence granted to Learning Styles Magazine allows the copying and distribution of the magazine's contents, as long as the authorship of the work is recognised, correctly specifying the author and the publishing entity. The work may not be used for commercial purposes, nor may it be altered, transformed or generated from this work.

The publication of articles or reviews in the Journal does not give the right to any remuneration.

The Learning Styles Journal invites the author/authors to increase the visibility and scope of their articles published by re-disseminating them in:

- Web spaces and personal networks, as well as in scientific meetings and forums

- Open institutional archives in Universities, educational repositories and Research Centres. 

- Academic and scientific networks (Researchgate, Academia.edu, Plubons, etc.)

All these spaces and publications must include all the bibliographic data of the publication.