Lecturers’ strategies for inclusive spaces in preparing pre-service teachers at a selected university in the Western Cape

Abstract

Inclusive teaching in South African universities remains a continuous challenge for many lecturers. Although national and institutional policies acknowledge diversity and commit to supporting all students, classroom experiences often tell a different story. Many lecturers struggle to ensure that every student feels seen and valued. Creating spaces of belonging goes beyond policy; it involves how lecturers teach, speak, and relate to their students in everyday practice. This work is often undertaken independently, with limited institutional support. This study explores how lecturers within a teacher preparation programme engage in inclusive practices and foster learning environments that affirm diversity. It focuses on the everyday pedagogical strategies used when teaching pre-service teachers from diverse social, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. Situated within an interpretive phenomenological framework, the study draws on narratives from three lecturers at a university located in Cape Town, South Africa, each with over ten years of teaching experience. Their narratives reveal how they strive to create inclusive classrooms, often within systems that inadvertently reproduce exclusion. The study draws on four theoretical lenses: Nel Noddings’ Ethics of Care, the philosophy of Ubuntu, Critical Pedagogy, and the concept of Epistemic Injustice. Together, these frameworks highlight inclusion not merely as a set of teaching strategies, but as an ethical and relational process shaped by institutional culture and power relations. The findings show that lecturers employ practical yet meaningful strategies, such as building caring relationships, adapting their teaching to meet diverse needs, and maintaining open communication to ensure students feel recognised and supported. Through continuous reflection, lecturers adjust their practices and model inclusive teaching for pre-service teachers. However, these individual efforts often occur in isolation, within systems that continue to prioritise efficiency over care. The study concludes that inclusion in higher education is not a quick fix or merely a technical adjustment, but an ongoing ethical practice. Achieving sustainable inclusion demands both personal commitment from lecturers and structural transformation within teacher education programmes.