Co-creating an equity-oriented, discursive space within a hybrid rural teacher education program

Rural and remote communities in British Columbia face challenges due to ongoing teacher shortages, particularly in areas with high Indigenous populations. The University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Rural and Remote Teacher Education (RRED) program is the first hybrid initiative in the province designed to address this gap. This study explores efforts to enhance equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, and accessibility (EDIDA) within the RRED program through a critical participatory action research approach (CPAR). Grounded in Design Justice and POUR (perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust) (WCAG, 2023) principles, and informed by the Universal Design for Learning 3.0 framework, this study engaged diverse faculty, graduate students, and teacher candidates (TCs) to co-develop inclusive design principles for online courses. TCs from equity-deserving groups participated in online affinity circles and sharing circles, collaborating to identify themes that promote inclusive learning in course design and multimedia resources within UBC’s Canvas Learning Management System. Six design principles emerged: accessibility and multi-modality; identity-based belonging; proactive, coherent, and cohesive design; care and mentoring; Indigenous pedagogy; and collaboration and relational accountability. This study highlights how CPAR-informed, EDIDA-focused course design scaffolds TC’s diverse knowledge to disrupt systemic inequities, benefiting both rural and broader educational contexts.