Across Europe, micro-credentials are being used as part of strategic instruments for life-long learning, work-force development, and widening participation. Although there have been developments in policy frameworks and qualification architectures, much less has been done regarding how micro-credentials are being created to promote learner involvement, inclusiveness and a feeling of belonging - especially for adults, professionals and disadvantaged learners. This presentation aims to fill this gap via an institutional and international case study of University of Limerick's (UL) approach to micro-credential design with a particular emphasis on its participation in the Learning to Learn through Micro-credentials (L2L MicroCreds) partnership.

UL's micro-credential provision has evolved in the context of Ireland's National MicroCreds project and the Human Capital Initiative, so that micro-credentials can be considered as accredited, stackable learning opportunities to support lifelong participation in higher-education. At the heart of this work is UL's Inclusive Learning Design Framework, which integrates participative co-design and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), as proactive responses to learner diversity. Unlike many other examples of inclusive design practice where inclusion is treated as an afterthought, the framework seeks to incorporate inclusion into the very foundations of design through four interrelated design pillars: flexible learning formats; bite-sized, modular and incremental structures; experiential and work-based learning; and the intentional creation of social learning opportunities. Together, these design pillars attempt to strike a balance between flexibility and relationship-building, and between employability and learner self-confidence, identity, and belonging.

The presentation draws upon UL's experience of creating and implementing micro-credentials between 2021 and 2024, using course artefacts, learner engagement data and reflective documentation. UL's experience in designing and delivering micro-credentials will be complemented and extended through the L2L MicroCreds project, a transnational collaboration between higher-education institutions in Ireland, Italy, Norway and Australia. Through L2L, micro-credentials operate as a shared space for design experimentation and enable partners to explore how inclusive design principles of learning design may be applied across different regional, cultural and learner contexts, particularly those learners who have experienced educational disadvantage and/or disruption to their learning pathway.

The evidence emerging from this work indicates that when micro-credentials are developed using inclusive and participative principles they are associated with greater learner engagement, longer-term persistence and more positive views of relevance and belonging. Furthermore, the L2L collaboration demonstrates that although the contexts in which institutions operate are variable across countries, there is considerable convergence in the needs of learners, namely, the need for flexibility without isolation, relevance without narrow instrumentalism, and modular learning that supports both professional identity and confidence.

The presentation argues that inclusive design for learning should be viewed as a quality driver rather than simply as an equity issue for micro-credentials and life-long learning more generally. By viewing learners as co-designers and micro-credentials as socially situated learning experiences, universities can shift away from transactional models of up-skilling towards more inclusive, participative and regionally engaged futures for education. The session concludes with a number of transferable design principles and invites participants to engage in discussion about how inclusive design principles for micro-credentials may be adapted and maintained in a variety of institutional and regional settings.

Among the many ways in which museums serve society today, museum learning programs that promote cultural diversity and support social inclusion are particularly notable. The International Council of Museums’ 2022 revised museum definition introduced inclusivity as a new element, explicitly emphasizing that museums operate with the participation of communities (ICOM, n.d.-b). In recent decades, a wide range of approaches has emerged to promote cultural diversity and social inclusion through museum learning programs, ranging from the engagement of socioculturally disadvantaged groups, to programs supporting the social integration of immigrants, as well as initiatives aimed at reducing the isolation of people living with dementia, and even extending to museum practices concerning gender-related themes. The 2020 International Museum Day, with the theme “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion,” drew attention to museums’ contributions to Sustainable Development Goal 10 of Agenda 2030, aimed at reducing inequalities. The theme emphasized that disadvantage can arise from a wide range of factors, including physical condition, social and economic status and educational background (ICOM, n.d.-a).

Following an overview of international trends regarding the role of museum learning in promoting cultural diversity and social inclusion, the presentation reveals the results of an empirical study examining innovative practices in museum education in Pécs, Hungary, with a focus on community engagement, inter-institutional collaboration, and applied approaches that promote community empowerment. The research was conducted through structured interviews in May and June 2025 with 15 museum learning professionals responsible for the design and implementation of museum learning programs in Pécs.

The study investigated how museums, galleries, and heritage sites in Pécs, Hungary, implement innovative learning practices to foster social inclusion, cultural diversity, and community engagement among diverse audiences. The sites included in the study strive to engage communities and foster inclusion through diverse approaches and methods. At certain locations, inclusion efforts aim to engage people with disabilities through diverse initiatives, such as accessible tours and tailored activities. Additionally, interviews highlighted practices involving disadvantaged children in both on-site and outreach activities, as well as programs explicitly designed to foster social and intercultural sensitivity within museum education. Collaborations with community organizations—including those supporting people with disabilities and minority cultural NGOs—play a vital role in inclusive programming and community involvement. Intergenerational projects were revealed as an innovative practice, implemented at certain sites and further fostering dialogue and learning across age groups. A notable initiative was an awareness-raising professional development session organized by one museum in Pécs in spring 2025 for museum learning professionals, addressing the inclusion of people on the autism spectrum. The session shared insights on their learning needs with input from organizations supporting people with disabilities and provided a platform for skill development, networking, and professional dialogue.

The study also highlights efforts to extend museum education beyond physical museum spaces into the city and surrounding natural environments through guided walks and outdoor programs, deepening participants’ connection with local heritage. Tailored senior and adult programs, as well as partnerships with senior associations, support social engagement among older populations.

Experiential and creative programs enrich visitor experiences, including concerts in exhibition spaces, student docent training, and live interpretation services—all contributing to strengthening local identity and accessibility.

Overall, the presentation highlights the increasingly prominent and multifaceted role of museums in Pécs in actively promoting social inclusion through innovative educational practices and community engagement. It summarizes best practices that may be worth adapting by other museums and provides inspiration for museum professionals and policymakers seeking to enhance social cohesion and accessibility within cultural institutions.

References:

ICOM (n.d.-a). 2020 – Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion. Retrieved February 9, 2025, from https://imd.icom.museum/past-editions/2020-museums-for-equality-diversity-and-inclusion/#

ICOM (n.d.-b). Museum Definition. Retrieved February 9, 2025, from https://icom.museum/en/resources/standards-guidelines/museum-definition/

Introduction

In the context of societal transformation processes, efforts to promote inclusion have become increasingly visible across various levels. This is evident in global initiatives such as the World Migration Report (IOM, 2019), the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (UN, 2015), and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN, 2006). These frameworks emphasize the need to dismantle barriers to participation and ensure equitable access to education for all individuals. In this sense, the UN Convention states that no person should be excluded from the general education system due to disability. Similar claims are made with respect to other dimensions of diversity in the above-mentioned initiatives. However, despite the widespread acceptance of these principles, controversies persist regarding the implementation of inclusive education, often highlighting the inertia of school systems and the challenges of political decision-making (Kruschel & Merz-Atalik, 2023). Teacher education plays a pivotal role in addressing these challenges, with universities and pedagogical institutions tasked with embedding inclusion into curricula to prepare future educators for inclusive practices. Nonetheless, its integration into teacher training curricula in the German-speaking countries remains inconsistent and shaped by various tensions (Meier et al., 2026).

Methods

Against this backdrop, this study critically examines how individual support is understood and operationalized in primary education teacher curricula in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Therefore, the curricula from major teacher training institutions in Bielefeld (western Germany), Leipzig (eastern Germany), Vienna (Austria), and Zurich (Switzerland) are analyzed. To give a broad perspective, the focus of the study is on four subjects, representing different subject groups: education science (as the overarching subject), German (as a language subject), mathematics (as a Mint subject), and Physical Education (as an aesthetic subject). A structuring qualitative content analysis (Kuckartz & Rädicker, 2023) of the current curricula explores the interplay between pedagogical and psychometric approaches to diagnostics, as well as the tension between promoting individual development and aligning students to standardized goals in addressing the issue of individual support.

Results and Discussion

The findings reveal significant differences in how individual support is addressed across the curricula. Some curricula emphasize learning process diagnostics as a tool to assess individual learning levels and provide targeted support, particularly for students at the extremes of the performance spectrum. Others adopt a medical-psychological orientation to diagnostics, focusing on identifying learning and developmental problems, framing individual support as a tool to equalize heterogeneity, which is often perceived as a problem to be solved. And some do not even address diagnostics or diversity explicitly, leaving individual support and inclusion absent.

However, across the analyzed curricula, several common assumptions emerge. All curricula implicitly center on the individual learner, but the connection between teacher actions and student development is rarely questioned. The teacher's role remains dominant, with an emphasis on their responsibility to diagnose and address student needs. Where diagnostics are addressed, they tend to align with psychometric approaches, emphasizing standardization and equalization over pedagogical flexibility. These findings raise critical questions on how individual support is understood and operationalized in the context of inclusion.

Educational significance

The study identifies two key areas of tension that shape the integration of individual support into curricula: (1) differences in diagnostics, with pedagogical diagnostics focusing on fostering individual development and psychometric diagnostics emphasizing standardization; and (2) differences in target dimensions, with some curricula aiming to support individual development while others prioritize aligning students to societal standards.

Within these tensions, the absence of clear definitions and actionable frameworks for individual support in some curricula suggests a lack of alignment between political demands for inclusion and practical implementation in teacher training. One might ask, if concepts of individual support are introduced primarily to satisfy political demands, with limited impact on teaching practice? The superficial integration of inclusion and diversity in several curricula raises concerns about whether these concepts are genuinely embedded in pedagogical practice or merely serve as rhetorical tools to meet policy requirements.

In conclusion, the analysis underscores the need for a more coherent and pedagogically grounded approach to individual support in primary education teacher curricula. To better align teacher training with inclusive education principles, curricula must move beyond deficit-oriented and psychometric frameworks to embrace resource-oriented perspectives that foster individual development.