Inclusive pedagogy and me (and my school, colleagues and pupils)

Start by reading our summary of inclusive pedagogy. Lani Florian is one of the founders of inclusive pedagogy and she describes inclusive pedagogy as “By adopting the assumption that difference is normal, all teachers share responsibility and are considered competent to teach all learners”. We translated this in three key phrases:

• Yes they can: they being the pupils, learners or students
• Yes I can: I being the teacher or educational professional
• Yes we can: we being the whole school team, so you and your colleagues

Next you observe your school and note what you see, do or think that can be linked to one of the key phrases. You can do this individually, as a preparation for a group discussion or do this as a group with your team. Observing your school might involve:

• Walking around, wandering in and out of classes as the school day is buzzing around you
• Observing the teaching of one or more colleagues for a short while
• Imagine you are receiving guests in your school and you show them around, what would they see? (Or have actual guests over)
• Looking at all sorts of materials: lesson preparations, what hangs on the wall in classes and corridors, workpieces of pupils, tasks and homework given, ...
• Think about all school habits, things that become visible after being in your school for a while
• Ask a (group of) pupil(s) about the school, how do they feel being here? How do they like the teaching and learning?
• …

Now put the framework of inclusive pedagogy and your observations side by side. Use the framework as a lens to look at your reality. How do your observations link to the inclusive pedagogy framework?

At the end of the exercise, take some time to reflect. You can do this immediately after doing the exercise, or allow some time to let the exercise sink in. We do advise to plan this reflection no later than one week after doing the exercise. Some reflective questions might help

• What stood out during this exercise? What surprised you?
• Where do you see inclusive pedagogy already embedded in your daily practice?
• What part of the inclusive pedagogy framework (or the summary) makes you feel excited to take the next step in your inclusive practice?
• What would be your next step in your inclusive practice? What or who might help you take this next step?