Engaging Environmental Sciences Students in Statistics through an Inclusive Experience in a Spanish University

Abstract

In Spain, the issue of people with disability’s access to adapted educational material is still unresolved in the university context. Other insufficiently addressed issues comprise actions to include students with intellectual disability in university classrooms, and the awareness-raising and sensitisation of undergraduate students regarding disability. These deficiencies persist despite the known benefits of these types of initiatives for all the agents involved. For this reason, we carried out an inclusive experience at the Pablo de Olavide University, specifically in the statistics subject. Educational resources were adapted, inclusion activities were conducted with students with intellectual disability, and we were in charge of awareness-raising and sensitisation of undergraduate students. The present paper describes the experience as well as its evaluation, which was performed using a survey. Furthermore, the work compares the achievement of students with a more engaging system that incorporates inclusive teaching versus one that does not. The results, which were statistically analysed, report high levels of satisfaction for all the involved agents, as well as improvements in the academic performance of the students. Recommendations directed towards both teaching staff and educational authorities are also provided on how to promote inclusion in universities and more specifically inclusion in science. These suggested educational policies aim to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, based on the Sustainable Development Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.