Embedding Belonging in the Curriculum

Design belonging into your curriculum

Working Group

Welcometo the WIHEA Building belonging Learning Circle's working group focused on embedding belonging into curriculum.

Read on to find out:

why belonging matters in the curriculum
what the guiding frameworks from the literature are
how our working group supports embedding belonging into Warwick curricula (incl. events & resources)

This group has been working in 2025-2026 and co-led by:

Jo Kukuczka

Amanda Lang

Amira Elasra

Would you like more information?

Email Inca Hide-Wright on Inca.O.Hide-Wright@warwick.ac.uk

Email WIHEA on wihea@warwick.ac.uk

Why belonging matters in the curriculum

• A strong sense of belonging is consistently linked to better academic adjustment, persistence, satisfaction, and outcomes for students.

• Pedagogy and curriculum design are instrumental—they can either enable or constrain belonging depending on how they are implemented (Cohen & Viola, 2022).

Guiding frameworks from literature

• Community of Inquiry (CoI) & Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Useful lenses for designing inclusive blended learning that fosters social, teaching, and cognitive presence (Mendoza & Venables, 2023).

• Pedagogy of Belonging (PoB): A human-centeredapproach that places belonging as a core guiding value in curriculum decisions (Lemon, 2023).

• Curriculum Integration & Inquiry-Based Learning: Connecting knowledge across subjects andcenteringinquiry can improve self-efficacy and belonging, particularly in diverse settings (Beane, 1998; Park & Chang, 2024).

To support embedding belonging into Warwick curricula, our working group aims to:

1. raise awareness about the Belonging framework (Hide-Wright, I., Ritchie, T., Alcock, A., & Mencarini, L, (2024). Warwick Building Belonging Framework) | 2025-2026

2. develop a prototype Belonging Curriculum Design resource to support disciplinary and interdisciplinary curriculum designers | 2025-2026

3. disseminate the resource and invite colleagues to test and refine this curriculum design framework/tool | 2025-2026 onwards

Aim 1 | Raising awareness through Faculty workshops

Session | Building Belonging in the Curriculum

Intended audience | Staff and Students

About |

Curious about how belonging can be designed into curricula?

Join this interactive, in-person workshop to explore the Warwick Building Belonging Framework and practical ways to embed belonging into curriculum (learning outcomes, assessment, and learning activities).

The workshop runs once per faculty to keep discussions discipline-relevant. The workshops have now concluded.

Faculty of Arts

Wed 11th Mar 2026 1pm-2pm | OC0.05

Missed the workshop? Catch up here

Faculty of Social Sciences

Wed 29th Apr 12pm-1pm | R0.12

Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Wed 18th Mar 1pm-2pm | R1.13

Aim 2 | Embedding belonging through the prototype resource

Resource | Belonging in Curriculum

Intended audience | Programme and module convenors | Teaching staff

About |

Curious about how belonging can be designed into curricula?

Explore our prototype Belonging in Curriculum Design resource.