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Universal Design for Learning
Equity Education and Anti-Oppression Frameworks

Anti-Oppressive Practice

Systemic oppressionOpens in a new window creates numerous disadvantages for students at the postsecondary level. At the same time, students enter postsecondary institutions having already experienced a host of negative experiences beginning in elementary and secondary school. An intersectional approach woven throughout curriculum can ensure more equitable outcomes for learners whose lives encompass a variety of identities and experiences. Some people also refer to this as an anti-oppression approach.

Anti-oppressiveOpens in a new window practiceOpens in a new window(AOP) involves actively acknowledging and dismantling inequitable systems. Anti-oppression frameworks, such as antiracismOpens in a new window, set out specific analyses and actions that are part of this work.

Within AOP, it is important to appreciate the uniqueness of lived experienceOpens in a new window. The historical realities, the related systems of discrimination, and the steadfast liberation movements of various communities are highly unique. No social identityOpens in a new window is monolithic.

Paying attention to the language and experiences of social identity demonstrates solidarityOpens in a new window and respect for the activism and labour that marginalized groups expend on teaching others. The following are examples of activist organizations that undertake anti-oppressiveOpens in a new window and antiracist Opens in a new windowwork.

Next section →Honouring Lived Experience