Curriculum co-creation as a transformative strategy to address differential student outcomes: the example of Kingston University’s Student Curriculum Consultant Programme

Abstract

This paper examines the role that curriculum co-creation can play in creating a more inclusive higher education and in so doing, address the complex challenge of differential student outcomes and attainment. It achieves this by exploring Kingston University’s Curriculum Consultant programme within this context of their Inclusive Curriculum Framework. Students who work as Curriculum Consultants use their own diverse lived experiences and Kingston University’s Inclusive Curriculum Framework (ICF) to collaborate with staff to create more accessible, diverse and globally relevant curricula at all levels of the institution. The consultants work with staff in a variety of ways, providing feedback on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) experience of individual modules, the inclusivity of teaching resources, and areas where the curriculum represents potential barriers to some groups of students. They also take leadership roles, participating in and facilitating staff development workshops focused on inclusive teaching and learning. This paper examines three instances of co-creation facilitated through the Curriculum Consultant programme. We argue that the Curriculum Consultant programme acts as a mechanism through which the institution can not only legitimate, but also actively endorse and encourage co-creation in order to create more inclusive curricula.