What competences do we need for inclusive practices?

To develop inclusive practices, teachers need to adapt their role and develop their compentences accordingly.

An inclusive school and society, according to the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (2016), requires teachers and other educational professionals to:

• Provide a warm welcome for all learners so that they feel that they belong, are involved, can learn, and can engage in positive social interactions with peers and adults. Check this example of a warm welcome. 

• Collaborate within the school
  Check our tips on co-teaching.

• Work with parents as educational partners
  Explore organisations who work with and for parents, also the app Wunder.

• Improve and innovate their practice, based on acquired knowledge, skills and attitudes. It is not about being prepared for all possible problems but realising the knowledge, skills and attitude can be developed in collaboration. Realising and celebrating human diversity, and being open for divers ways to learn, to discover and to develop. Example article Dance is nature written by Hannah Dupré - see download material. 
  Quote from this article: Inge Blockmans: "Its about letting go of the illusion that all people whould move in the same way."

• Use a community-centred approach through pupil participation, valuing expertise by experience of children and peers. Example article Manifesto for attuned teaching - see download material.

• Create a holistic curriculum for each learner.
  In a holistic approach, attention is given to the physical, personal, social, emotional and spiritual well-being of children in addition to the cognitive aspects of learning. Even when a learning activity focuses on a specific learning goal, it is always integrated and interconnected with each child, the child's family, communities and peers. Learning is seen as a social activity in which collaborative learning is central. In an integrated, holistic approach to teaching and learning, attention is paid to connections with the natural environment. For an example, watch the Video "The Butterfly Circus".

• Use a holistic design approach 
  Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework that offers tools to put an inclusive vision into practice.  Also, the Four-Component Instructional Design Model (Van Merriënboer & Kirschner, 2017) can be applied. For an example, watch the Film 'Accessible Learning for All'.

• Be culturally responsive. With this concept we focus on the importance of acknowledging all the divers cultural backgrounds and traditions. When a teacher is interested in the background of a child, connects with the traditions (festivities, food, habits,…), this can be very empowering for children.   For example: Students appeal to Education for inclusion of Muslim holiday.

• Encourage interprofessional collaboration within systems by being open to each other's expertise as professionals and by designing integrated and innovative approaches from a shared vision (De Waal et al., 2018). For example the collaboration beyond the school boundaries: working together with the local community, youth care, health organizations,… Involving the local community in the school and allowing them to participate.
   
• Take professional development with a focus on inclusion for granted. For example investing in professionalisation intern, in schools, to be able to learn as a team. We do not need individual experts in schools but networks of people who learned to cooperate, to share vulnerability and expertise.

• Involve the local community in the school and involve the school in the local community. Examples of collaboration beyond the school boundaries: working together with the local community, youth care, health organisations,… 

Because these are broader and sometimes new roles for the teacher, according to European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (2012) the teacher needs four core competences. In our research (2021) the importance of these competences was inquired within the participating countries:

• Competence 1: Appreciating learner diversity - differences between learners are seen as a resource and an asset to education;
• Competence 2: Supporting all learners - teachers have high and realistic expectations of the performance of all learners;
• Competence 3: Working with others - collaboration and teamwork are essential approaches for all teachers;
• Competence 4: Personal professional development - teaching is a learning activity and teachers take responsibility for their lifelong learning.