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A study from Worcester Polytechnic Institute finds when faculty members include their pronouns, an inclusivity statement and diverse course materials in their syllabi, students are more likely to believe they prioritize equity and inclusion.
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A course syllabus is a necessary and important document in higher education classes, not just in outlining expectations, policies, curricula, required materials and resources, but also in fostering students’ feelings of belonging. More recently, professors have added “identity safety cues” into their syllabi that cultivate inclusive and equitable learning environments, including personalized statements, accessibility statements, land acknowledgments, content warnings and inclusivity statements.
To gauge the effectiveness of this work and how students perceive inclusion in syllabi, researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute evaluated over 150 syllabi from STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) courses, hoping to identify what elements stood out to students.
The study, published in Nature’s Humanities and Social Sciences Communications journal in June, found students value having a professor’s pronouns noted, inclusivity statements and readings and materials authored by women and gender minority scholars as inclusive practices.
Reimagining the Syllabus
To foster belonging and engagement in the classroom, some professors have changed their syllabus model entirely. Anna Marie LaChance, a lecturer at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, created a mini syllabus magazine with doodles, advice for how to succeed and her philosophy and pedagogies.
The study: The study’s authors—faculty members Francesca Bernardi, Crystal Brown, Lindsay Davis, Michelle Ephraim, Rebecca Moody and Raisa Trubko—sought to understand how syllabi signal inclusivity in the classroom, particularly for science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses, which have historically less representation among women, students of color and gender minorities (including nonbinary and transgender learners).
To do so, researchers conducted analysis of 163 introductory undergraduate course syllabi from various departments at WPI to identify how many syllabi included the instructor’s pronouns, an inclusivity statement or diverse learning materials. Then, the researchers surveyed 145 undergraduate students to gauge how much they use the syllabus and how important those three features are with multiple-choice and open-ended responses.
Syllabi represented six academic years, from 2016–17 up to 2021–22, and represented WPI’s four schools—arts and sciences, engineering, business and global.
The results: The survey highlighted that students primarily look for grading information, course expectations, information, academic schedule and policies within the syllabus. Over three-quarters of students said they believe the syllabus is important (77 percent), and many see it as providing structure and organization to their schedules.
Among respondents who do not think the syllabus is important, students shared they thought its information was redundant because it was available elsewhere (in the LMS, in-class instruction or email communication), or because information changed throughout the course, making the syllabus obsolete.
Three-quarters of students believe syllabi listing instructors’ pronouns are important and this number grows among gender minority and women (86 percent). However, only 10 percent of the syllabi analyzed included an instructor’s pronouns. All syllabi with pronouns were from the School of Arts and Sciences and some of these syllabi also included the pronouns of teaching assistants or peer learning assistants.
A greater number of syllabi featured inclusivity statements (33 percent), and similar numbers of students believe these statements are important to add (71 percent). When inclusivity statements are featured in a course syllabus, students want that professor to demonstrate those values in the classroom and not feature a statement as a performative action.
Around one in five syllabi had works authored by women and gender minorities, and around three in five students said including women and gender minority authors in courses is important for their learning experience.
So what? In addition to highlighting how many students want these features in the classroom, students also shared why these practices are inclusive, noting that they:
- Set norms. Including pronouns in the syllabi encourages students to share their pronouns, which in turn validates gender identities, building a more equitable classroom environment. Similarly, an inclusivity statement sets expectations for how a professor will treat students and holds them accountable for inclusive actions, which was important to survey respondents.
- Demonstrate respect. Students indicated having pronouns in the syllabus makes them more comfortable in addressing the professor correctly, avoiding miscommunication and encouraging creating relationships with their instructor.
- Show support for all students. When a professor has their pronouns on their syllabus or an inclusivity statement, students say that can signal a professor’s allyship or recognition of LGBTQ+ or BIPOC issues on campus, which helps learners feel safe and supported in their academics.
- Foster diverse conversations. Students believe including works by diverse authors can expand their perspectives, ideas and experiences as well as challenge stereotypes in academia.
Across the student survey, few respondents indicated any of the three elements made them uncomfortable or affected their learning, making the practices mostly beneficial to learners.
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