EXPLORING DEI IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN EUROPE: WHAT, HOW AND WHY?

Paper in proceeding, 2024

A key aspect of social sustainability is diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and many European universities have their own DEI policies (Direito et al. 2021). To implement these policies within the classroom setting, teacher professional development (PD) is crucial. However, few universities do this in a systematic way. Within an engineering education context, this topic has received much attention as programs strive for a more diverse and inclusive environment, in an increasingly polarized environment. The SEFI position paper on DEI encourages in-depth and ongoing training for staff in this area that includes practical approaches to bias management. This workshop aims to provide a platform for teachers, teacher trainers, policy advisors and researchers in teacher professional development in engineering education to consider professional development practices in DEI in their own contexts. 

 The aim of this workshop was to: 

-showcase examples of how professional development in DEI is carried out in several European technical universities in response to both institutional and national policies 

-reflect on professional development and the DEI needs in different contexts, linking policies, theory and practice 

-share good practice from participants’ different contexts