Contribution of the ‘Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion’ Concept to Design Education: A Systematic Literature Review

The rise of awareness and attention around the concept of EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion) within the scientific and professional communities working in design studies is apparent. However, ensuring high-quality education for all – Sustainable Development Goal 4 – while educating future generations of designers in acting responsibly by preventing biased actions requires the higher education (HE) sector to appropriately interpret this multi-concept. A systematization of available knowledge is required to clearly depict main trends and developments made in the field in the last years. A systematic literature review of a sample of 56 works, selected from an original sample of 191 studies, both empirical and theoretical, performed in the field of design education allowed to identify trends, research themes, and disciplinary evolutions of the EDI concept into teaching and learning (T&L) environments. The extracted data show clear interweaves between EDI and design education through three research themes: (i) educational contexts, (ii) design disciplines, and (iii) emerging topics. Future research trajectories for advancing the field of design education are proposed from qualitative interpretation of findings. Synergies among interdisciplinary aspects provide rooms for critical reflection about the opportunities to progress the knowledge in the field within unexplored cultural domains.