Developing Relational Expertise in FET 2026: EEDI Personal Reflection Assignment Brief for Further Education Practitioners

This brief is written for practitioners in Ireland’s further education and training sector. It asks you to select one equality, inclusion or diversity issue, such as supporting refugee, Traveller or older learners, explore it with literature and colleagues, share your thinking in a peer review session and finally reflect, in your own words, on how your relational expertise has developed.

Learner Outcomes

This assignment helps you develop relational expertise in FET, specifically in learner equality, equity, inclusion and accommodating diversity (EEDI), building a common, shared professional expertise and “common knowledge” (Edwards, 2011, 2017). On completion you should be able to:

• Develop relational expertise with respect to issues of equality, equity, inclusion and diversity (EEDI) in FET (MLO4.1).
• Develop a deeper understanding of topics related to learner diversity, inclusion, equality and equity in the sector (MLO4.2).
• Select a specific area of FET-EEDI for reflection and review; reflect on your findings with peers and give feedback on theirs; engage in a community of practice (MLO4.3).
• Describe and deploy one or more tools for reflective practice in professional education settings, and apply new knowledge to your current work role and site of practice (MLO4.4).

Part 1: Select an Area of FET for Reflection

Focusing on inclusion, diversity, equity and equality, select an area of FET for further reflection and review. This can relate to policy or practice (approaches to teaching and learning, policy developments, FET administration, leadership), to the position and participation of specific groups (for example members of the Travelling community, refugees, women or older learners in FET), or to professional development for FET practitioners, including professional identity. Ideally it relates to your own work while offering insights for peers.

Reflections may draw on relevant literature, theoretical frameworks or models, professional conversations with peers and experts, insights from previous work, workshops or conferences, journal entries and notes, and earlier assignments.

Part 2: Peer Reflection and Review

An informal, dialogical, peer-led review of the key insights from your reflections, held at the final face-to-face session of the module. You seek feedback from peers and offer feedback on their selected areas. This part is not marked.

Part 3: Assignment

A short (2,000–3,000-word) written assignment, a video presentation or another medium of your choice, presented as a personal reflection on the selected area and what you have learned in terms of:

• New knowledge, skills or insights gained in the area under review; and
• How completing the assignment has added to your understanding of relational expertise in the FET sector.

Marking and Submission

• Marked against the programme rubric: presentation and structure, organisation, content, evidence of reading and related criteria, from Poor (0–39%) to Outstanding (80–100%).
• Submit via Blackboard on or before 6 November 2026.
• Written work should follow report format and APA (latest edition) conventions.