Universal Design for Learning to Create More Inclusive Education

Inclusive education is education in which children with special needs can learn together with their peers in the same school. Through inclusive education, students with disabilities are expected to gain access to a proper education. Unfortunately, the implementation of inclusive education in Indonesia is still far behind that of developed countries, lagging by about 40 years. This is caused by several factors, including a lack of government support, parents who are reluctant to send children with disabilities to school, and limited school access for people with disabilities. Some regions now apply a policy under which every school must accept at least one student with a disability because of the zoning system. The government's intention deserves appreciation because it opens wider access for people with disabilities. However, this policy also needs further study, because not all schools have a good understanding of inclusive education. In addition, many teachers are not yet aware of the diversity found in inclusive classrooms.

In practice, teachers do not yet understand that students with disabilities have needs and capacities that differ from those of other students. This lack of knowledge is caused by the minimal training and counselling teachers receive on inclusive education. In fact, in implementing inclusive education, a curriculum can be adjusted to students' needs. Such accommodation can be provided through adaptation and modification. Adaptation is a process in which the learning objectives remain the same, but the learning steps through to the assessment can be further adjusted to the students' needs. Modification, on the other hand, goes further because it changes the learning objectives. Modification is usually applied to students with more severe disabilities, for example those with Down syndrome, learning difficulties or even learning disabilities.

This curriculum modification can be carried out through a framework that we call Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL originated in architecture, where a building is designed universally so that it can be used by everyone, including people with disabilities. This concept was later adapted to education, where the curriculum is not based on the average student but is adjusted to each student's needs. If we compare it to clothing, UDL does not use one-size-fits-all; instead, the size is adjusted to the wearer. The UDL framework itself is fairly easy to apply because "universal" means general, so there is no limit on changing a curriculum to fit students' needs. For example, teachers can adjust learning objectives or exam questions to each student's needs and abilities. However, UDL is not without weaknesses: to date there has been no further research on how much of UDL should be applied for learning to be effective and not applied arbitrarily. 

UDL certainly brings a breath of fresh air to inclusive education. This is because its framework is easy to apply anywhere. In Indonesia, however, the term is still rather unfamiliar. Many education personnel do not yet understand it. Of course, to apply UDL, a teacher must be aware that every student has different abilities. Diversity is absolute and can never be made uniform. Realizations like this will lead a teacher to think that if students have different abilities, they must be taught in different ways as well. Of course, if UDL can be applied well, inclusive education can run even more smoothly. If teachers are aware that the curriculum can be adjusted, it will certainly make it easier to apply this UDL framework. Unfortunately, in some schools things are still too rigid: the curriculum must be the same for all children, and teachers are also reluctant to change important parts such as the learning objectives and exams for students with disabilities because they fear those students may be offended.

The current curriculum in Indonesia, the Merdeka curriculum, seems to be moving closer to the UDL concept. Moreover, under the Merdeka curriculum teachers are given more authority to design the learning process they will carry out. But again, if teachers do not understand that students are diverse, they will still teach for the average student. Therefore, teachers must have greater awareness of the diversity that exists. The government is expected to pay more attention to inclusive education by providing teachers with training on it. Teachers are also expected to open their minds and broaden their insight into inclusive education. This is because diversity is a certainty. That diversity deserves to be fought for so that each person's needs are met.