Disrupting the Discourse (DtD): A Dialogic Framework for Inclusive and Transformative Teaching

This paper introduces Disrupting the Discourse (DtD), a dialogic framework for inclusive and transformative teaching in higher education. Developed from an exploration of student alienation, differential student outcomes and the hidden curriculum, the framework challenges traditional, monologic approaches to teaching in which knowledge is predominantly transmitted from lecturer to student. Drawing on dialogic pedagogy, critical pedagogy, social constructivism and compassionate approaches to learning, the paper argues that inclusive teaching requires more than curriculum representation or the addition of diverse content. It requires attention to the relationships, power dynamics and conditions through which knowledge is produced, shared and valued. 

The paper identifies seven principles that underpin the DtD framework: (1) disruption as a learning tool; (2) interrogating knowledge and power structures; (3) experiential and performative learning; (4) student agency and institutional transformation; (5) a collective learning ecosystem; (6) co-creation in evaluation and assessment; and (7) employability and skills development through knowledge exchange. Together, these principles reposition students as active participants and co-creators of knowledge, while encouraging educators to share authority, facilitate critical dialogue and connect learning to lived experience and the world beyond the classroom. 

The paper subsequently translates these principles into a practical mapping and checklist tool designed to support educators in examining and developing their own teaching practice. Rather than presenting DtD as a universal solution to differential outcomes, the framework offers a structured approach through which educators and institutions can interrogate established practices, recognise student agency and create more dialogic, critical and transformative learning environments. The paper concludes by positioning disruption not as an end in itself, but as a pedagogical means through which higher education can move from transmission towards participation, from alienation towards engagement, and from learning as consumption towards learning as a basis for critical action.