UDL-based interventions for Faculty Development in Higher Education: a Systematic Review

Universal Design for Learning is a theoretical approach aimed at ensuring full accessibility in education. Despite its global recognition and potential benefits for student engagement and teacher professionalism, the literature on its applications is still limited, especially when considering higher education. This systematic review offers a comprehensive overview of UDL-based interventions at the university level, focusing on their methodologies, structures, and impacts on students, faculty, and other university personnel. This review found a small number of studies on UDL in higher education, which nevertheless highlight the utility and benefits of UDL in higher education. These studies used various research designs, samples, and instruments, showing significant differences in the duration, frequency, and content of UDL interventions. These interventions primarily enhanced knowledge and skills of academic staff, while impacts on students' learning and participation or, more in general, faculty development was taken into consideration in a minority of cases. In conclusion, this review underscores that UDL implementation is essential to foster a more inclusive and effective learning environment in higher education, addressing the needs of all students and their heterogeneity. However, future research on UDL-based interventions would benefit from methodological rigor, fidelity in the implementation of the model, an accurate documentation of the interventions and assessment of their impacts.