Educators have become acutely aware of ways in which our educational systems and practices marginalize, exclude, and harm learners as a result of their social identities. Many educators are actively learning about anti-oppressive educational approaches and working to implement these into their practice. While many institutions and programs encourage educators to pursue such learning and improvement, we recognize that true change also requires commitment and support at the institutional level to champion anti-oppressive educational practices. To our knowledge, no institutions provide a comprehensive set of practices to guide educators in their professional development journeys toward anti-oppression. National organizations have developed diversity, equity, and inclusion competencies (AAMC 2022) and milestones for clinician educators (ACGME 2022). While these efforts provide helpful guidance, they lack the specificity educators need to enact anti-oppressive approaches in day-to-day health professions education (HPE) practices. These efforts provide helpful guidance, yet lack the specificity educators and education leaders need to enact anti-oppressive approaches in day-to-day activities.
Our interprofessional faculty team developed core practices for HPE educators and institutions, structured with an anti-oppressive lens. These practices include a Foundational Domain describing the preparation individuals and institutions need to begin engaging in anti-oppressive educational practices, and 5 Domains of Educational Practice (UK AoME 2022): 1) Designing and Planning Learning Activities, 2) Teaching and Facilitating Learning, 3) Formal Assessment of Learning, 4) Leadership, and 5) Scholarship. The statements in each domain describe expectations for anti-oppressive educational practices and outline requisite institutional supports. The practices were iteratively revised with feedback from local experts, stakeholders, and national experts in faculty development and anti-oppression.
We propose that a set of practices focused on the core activities of health professions educators and approached from the lens of anti-oppression can make a substantial contribution toward just and equitable educational systems and practices by: 1) providing a framework and blueprint for coordinated professional development offerings across institutions and programs, 2) clarifying expectations of educators and educational leaders regarding anti-oppressive educational practices, and 3) planning resources required to support faculty in their efforts to develop the expected practices.
