Inclusive Educational Environment Research Articles

Оценка родителями инклюзивной образовательной среды школы и своего участия в ее создании

<p style="text-align: justify;">The role of parents as participants in educational relations, and especially in the context of inclusive education, has attracted the attention of researchers for a long time, and this attention does not weaken, confirming the importance of this topic. In this work, we set ourselves the goal, based on monitoring data for 10 regions of Russia, to determine, on the one hand, the opinion of parents about the readiness of schools for inclusive education based on a number of indicators of the inclusive educational environment, and on the other hand, their participation in various forms of work offered by schools. The sample was randomly formed by strata (selection of regions, selection of schools, selection of parents). The total sample size was 121,364 parents from 679 schools, where the proportion of parents of students with disabilities was 6,99% (8 478 respondents). For data processing, a random sample (10% of the total number) was formed and used for frequency and correlation analysis. A frequency analysis of parents’ opinions on various aspects of a school’s readiness for inclusion revealed three groups of characteristics of an inclusive educational environment, differing in levels of readiness: the first concerns the professional level of teachers and support specialists, the second concerns the relationships between teachers and students, as well as between students, the third concerns the general material and technical equipment of schools, materials, textbooks and educational equipment adapted for children with disabilities, as well as the adaptability of the school space and its territory. The frequency analysis is confirmed by the results of correlation analysis: the characteristics included in one group showed a strong correlation with each other, and in different groups showed an average correlation. An important exception was the strong correlation between the level of professional readiness of teachers and the relations between teachers and students. Parents' participation in the forms of work offered by the school turned out to be significantly less than the perceived opportunities for participation, which confirms the hypothesis that there is a significant difference between the perceived opportunities for participation and the actual participation of parents in the forms of work offered by schools. This is consistent with the position that the key to attracting parents to participate in creating an inclusive educational environment is the connection between the conditions created by schools and the requests of parents as subjects of educational relations, their active position in supporting the efforts made by the school.</p>

Exploring the Effect of Discrimination on Ethnic Minority Medical Students’ Mental Well-Being in the Netherlands

Racial discrimination is a global concern affecting education, including medical programs in the Netherlands. Covert racial discrimination in academia has been linked to adverse academic outcomes and unequal opportunities. This qualitative study explores the relationship between racism, well-being, and academic success among ethnic minority students in Dutch medical education. Conducted in 2021 at a southern Netherlands university, this research employed interviews to delve into the racial discrimination experiences of 11 diverse medical students. Utilising a phenomenological approach, the study conducted semi-structured interviews and applied thematic content analysis to understand how racial discrimination impacted the students’ well-being. The findings revealed the prevalence of both overt and covert racial discrimination in predominantly white educational environments. Ethnic minority students encountered discrimination that negatively affected their well-being and academic performance. Racism manifested in overt and covert ways, with students often normalising exclusionary and racist situations. Ethnic minority students reported experiencing more racial discrimination than their white European peers, resulting in feelings of exclusion and academic challenges. The study suggests that implementing student-centred inclusivity measures through structural and institutional changes, such as support structures, mentoring programs, and inclusive course content, can mitigate racial discrimination, enhance diversity and inclusion, and improve ethnic minority medical students’ mental well-being and academic performance. Addressing covert racism is crucial for fostering an equitable and inclusive educational environment. These findings underscore the importance of proactive action to combat racial discrimination in educational settings.

Intersectionality of disability and cultural/linguistic diversity in the UK: a literature review

This article explores the intersectionality of cultural and linguistic diversity and having a child with a disability, highlighting the unique challenges faced by parents from a minority ethnic background at this intersection. With increasing globalization, diverse and multicultural populations have become more prevalent, necessitating inclusive systems that address the unique needs of minority ethnic groups. Understanding the experiences of parents at the intersection of cultural and linguistic diversity and having a child with a disability is crucial for providing equitable access to education and support. This paper provides an overview of studies conducted in the UK, focusing on the challenges faced by culturally and linguistically diverse families from a minority ethnic background with children with disabilities and emphasizing factors such as religion, cultural beliefs, language barriers, and unique insights into specific populations. The findings emphasize the need for a comprehensive understanding of the intersectionality of cultural and linguistic diversity and disability to create inclusive educational environments that empower all children, irrespective of their cultural background or abilities.

Pedagogical proposal of tactile graphical framework for delimiting permanent preservation areas for the visually impaired

One of the biggest challenges for visually impaired people is learning cartographic content. Among the cartographic contents, the conceptualization and delimitation of preservation areas is an applied example with extreme relevance for environmental education. This article presents the process of developing a tactile graphic scheme for environmental education for visually impaired people regarding the delimitation of permanent preservation areas around springs and rivers. The creation of the teaching resource used easily acquired materials and followed format recommendations indicated by academic literature on tactile maps. The didact resource has textual content in Braille and Roman numerals, as well as legend and graphic scale in high relief. Special care was taken so that the teaching resource can be used in an inclusive manner, involving, at the same time, blind, partially visually impaired and students with full vision, to promote an inclusive educational environment. This resource can be a useful tool for teaching cartography topics applied to environmental conservation contexts.

Psychological Features of Adolescent Children's Tolerance Development as an Actual Problem of Inclusive Practice

One of the indicators of psychological safety of an inclusive educational environment is the tolerance of adolescent children. The article presents the consideration of this indicator through the prism of tolerance, which allowed us to identify three types of attitude of junior schoolchildren with normotype development to those developing atypically: intolerant (negative), neutral, tolerant (positive). The identified types of tolerant attitude of junior schoolchildren are correlated with the levels of interaction: pre-subject, subject-object, subject-subject (activity-value and polysubject). The empirical research that allowed to reveal the prevailing types of attitude and corresponding levels of interaction of junior schoolchildren: neutral attitude - subject-object type of interaction and tolerant attitude - activity-value type of interaction with obvious deprivation of the polysubject type of interaction is presented. The article clarifies the concept of tolerance towards children with special educational needs. The article reveals the indicators and levels of teacher's competence in fostering tolerance of junior schoolchildren in relation to peers with special educational needs. The article defines the psychological features of adolescent children with different types of pathological disorder; investigates the role of psychological safety of inclusive educational environment in the formation of tolerance of adolescent children; makes a structural and functional analysis of tolerance of adolescent children as a relevant problem of inclusive practice; defines the role of the teacher in the formation of tolerance of adolescent children as a relevant problem of inclusive practice.

Investigating representations of indigenous peoples and indigenous knowledge in zoos

Many scholars advocate for indigenous knowledge (IK) to be integrated into science education to foster a more inclusive educational environment. Informal science learning spaces provide opportunities for encountering science phenomena and broader perspectives. Zoos have the potential to include IK into their informational signage due to having collections of native plants and animals that are significant to Indigenous communities. The history of zoos being platforms for colonialist ideologies also necessitates acknowledgement of how White Settler colonialism has negatively impacted Indigenous peoples. We therefore investigated how two zoos in North America portray IK and perspectives in zoo sections centering native animals. We found that while both zoos provide strong examples of how IK can be included in zoo signage, certain aspects of IK (particularly that of climate patterns), were largely absent. Additionally, zoo signage largely ignored the impact of settler colonialism on both the natural environment and indigenous cultures.

The Role of an Inclusive Educational Environment in the Development of Communication Skills and Emotional Intelligence of Younger Students: A Study of Best Practices, Conclusions and Recommendations

The Role of an Inclusive Educational Environment in the Development of Communication Skills and Emotional Intelligence of Younger Students: A Study of Best Practices, Conclusions and Recommendations

Assessment of the needs of children with disabilities in the preschool education program

The article actualizes the problem of mastering a standard program of preschool education and training for children with disabilities integrated into preschool educational organizations. It presents a brief analysis of the key aspects of pedagogical diagnostics and assessment of the special educational needs of children with disabilities of preschool age. The authors note that the existing monitoring of the assimilation of the content of the standard preschool education and training program is insufficiently focused on the needs of children with disabilities included in the common educational space with normotypic children. In this regard, they present and describe tools for assessing the special educational needs of this group of children in the process of mastering the program in a preschool educational organization. For experimental verification of the developed tools, a pilot study was conducted at the KSU "Sanatorium nursery-garden No. 21" in Almaty. The novelty of this research lies in the development and implementation of a new method of interaction of preschool teachers in the process of psychological and pedagogical support. This method includes a preliminary assessment of the skills and abilities of children with disabilities, which complements and improves the traditional monitoring of the assimilation of the preschool education and training program. The article describes this process, including the steps and methodological approaches used by the participants of the experiment. Special attention is paid to the activation of interaction between preschool teachers (educators, a teacher of the Kazakh language, a music director, a physical education instructor) implementing a program of preschool education and training, and specialists of psychological and pedagogical support. The article demonstrates how cooperation between teachers and specialists contributes to the successful adaptation of the educational process for children with disabilities, creating conditions for their full development in an inclusive educational environment.

Formation of inclusive competence of future teachers of Physical Culture as a psychological and pedagogical problem

The article highlights the problem related to the formation of inclusive competence of future teachers of Physical Culture. The analysis of scientific sources, which covered the category "inclusive competence”, was presented. The content of the concept "inclusion" has been clarified as a complex and systematic process of ensuring equal access to quality education (at all levels) for children with special educational needs by designing a system of their education in institutions of general secondary education on the basis of the use of personality-oriented teaching methods, taking into account the individual characteristics of the educational and cognitive activities of such students. It has been determined that markers of the modern inclusive educational environment can be associated with: teachers’ understanding of the need to apply various didactic approaches, taking into account different styles of learning, temperament and personal characteristics of certain categories of children; adaptation of educational (didactic, methodological) materials; the use of various algorithms for differentiating children by the level of their cognitive activity and educational prospects. On the basis of the study of the leading scientists’ viewpoints, the concept of inclusive competence of a teacher of Physical Culture was specified in this formulation: a system of specialist’s formed knowledge of various ways of implementing the principles of inclusion in education and his/her health-saving capabilities; professionally determined skills in the context of developing methods of physical education intended for students with special educational needs; teacher's instructions on creating a barrier-free educational environment, as an organic space for the coexistence of children with "normative" development and children with specific features of physical, emotional and mental health. The directions of positive influence on the formation of inclusive competence of future Physical Culture teachers in the pedagogical university are formulated as follows: saturation of the system of professional training aimed at future teachers of Physical Culture with inclusive content, by means of enhancing the significance of inclusive educational practices for the health of the younger generation; activation of students’ independent work to develop individual models of physical education of students with special educational needs without violating the logic and organics of the traditional system of physical education; updating the motivational guidance of future teachers to implement the principles of inclusion in physical education.

Harnessing AI to Power Constructivist Learning: An Evolution in Educational Methodologies

This article navigates the confluence of the age-old constructivist philosophy of education and modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools as a means of reconceptualizing teaching and learning methods. While constructivism champions active learning derived from personal experiences and prior knowledge, AI’s adaptive capacities seamlessly align with these principles, offering personalized, dynamic, and enriching learning avenues. By leveraging AI platforms such as ChatGPT, BARD, and Microsoft Bing, educators can elevate constructivist pedagogy, fostering enhanced student engagement, self-reflective metacognition, profound conceptual change, and an enriched learning experience. The article further emphasizes the preservation of humanistic values in the integration of AI, ensuring a balanced, ethical, and inclusive educational environment. This exploration sheds light on the transformative potential of inter-twining traditional educational philosophies with technological advancements, paving the way for a more responsive and effective learning paradigm.

Harmonizing Faith and Inclusion: Integrating Religious Values in Inclusive Education

Inclusive education, an educational concept that promotes equality and participation of all individuals, is receiving increasing attention in a diverse global era. This article explores inclusive education from the perspective of religious literature, analyzing how the values and teachings of various religions can shape education that is inclusive, accepting, and respecting differences. Through library research methods, this article collects views from Islamic, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish and traditional religious literature. The results of the study show that the concept of inclusive education can be found in universal values such as compassion, justice and brotherhood found in religious literature. These teachings offer a strong foundation for developing a learning environment that embraces diversity, builds student character, and promotes interfaith understanding. However, challenges in integrating religious values in educational practices are also found, including diverse interpretations and contextual adaptations. This article suggests steps towards implementing inclusive education based on religious values, including developing learning materials, training educators, collaborating with religious communities, and developing interfaith dialogue. Although complex, the application of this concept has the potential to shape a more inclusive and sustainable educational environment, building a society that values diversity and equality.

Promoting Safe Spaces: Creating Inclusive Educational Environments for Transgender Students

The goal is to create a unified education system that values all children, regardless of their caste, class, gender, sexualities, race, community backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds and abilities. The movement towards integrating children with disabilities into the regular classrooms started in the second half of the twentieth century. However, transgender students still face discrimination due to their gender and sexual identities. The Right to Education Act, 2009 guarantees universal education for all, and the Constitution of India mandates an inclusive society for all, including transgender persons. In recent years, the perception of the society towards transgender persons has changed, and transgender persons can lead a better quality of life if they have equal opportunities and access to social development services. Inclusive classrooms are important for trans, non-binary and Two-Spirit students, as they foster essential learning outcomes such as critical thinking and effective group work skills. This article will throw light on the identification of transgender students in schools, students are managing conflict situations in the schools, ensuring safety and security of transgender students in schools and some suggestive practices for teachers and school administrators.

Executive functions, self-regulation and social media for peace-based inclusive education

This article comprehensively explores the critical interplay between executive functions (EFs), self-regulation, and social media in promoting a peaceful and inclusive educational environment. The study emphasizes the significance of EFs in regulating cognitive processes and coping with new challenges, focusing on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and its interconnected neural circuits. Addressing the relevance of EFs in conflict resolution, emotional regulation, and metacognitive practices, the research investigates how they contribute to constructive conflict-resolution, emotional maturity, and responsible online behavior in educational settings. Furthermore, the bidirectional relationship between prosocial behaviors and EFs is explored, revealing their mutual reinforcement during early childhood and beyond. The article discusses the benefits and challenges of social media in educational contexts, highlighting the importance of mindful usage to promote positive interactions and empathy among students, educators, and stakeholders. Adopting a holistic approach, the study examines successful self-regulation practices and approaches that empower individuals to navigate negative emotions and cultivate positive relationships within groups. Additionally, the review sheds light on the potential implications of EFs and self-regulation in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It identifies shared genetic bases and neurobiological underpinnings, offering valuable insights for developing targeted interventions to enhance executive function skills in affected populations. The findings have practical implications for professionals in education, parents, and policymakers, emphasizing the importance of nurturing emotional regulation, promoting metacognitive practices, and ensuring responsible social media use to create a harmonious and inclusive educational environment. The article aims to provide valuable insights for researchers and practitioners seeking to cultivate empathy, support positive conflict resolution, and facilitate the holistic development of students and stakeholders in educational and intimate learning environments.

Exploring the Path of Inclusive Development in Higher Education Teaching Centers to Support Special Education

The Center on Research for Learning and Teaching in University of Michigan has developed a robust operational mechanism and distinctive training programs over half a century, making it an exemplary model for educational centers in the United States. In China, the establishment of university teaching development centers and the initiation of special education are relatively recent endeavors. Exploring a path for inclusive development in higher education teaching centers to support special education, creating an inclusive educational environment, establishing a comprehensive service system for special education within university teaching centers, and promoting the cultivation of advanced and practical educators for inclusive education, all represent innovative approaches towards achieving the ultimate goal of high-quality education. Building upon the insights from the educational consulting services at the University of Michigan, this paper endeavors to investigate the construction of a path that ensures the development of special education within university teaching centers in China.

How Ontario K-12 Gender Diversity Policy Guides School Staff in Handling Students’ Changing Name, Pronoun and other Gender Information


 This research presents an updated analysis that focuses on the evolving inclusion of student gender information in the policies of Ontario school boards, with a specific emphasis on responding to the current issue of student gender information disclosure (chosen name, pronouns, washroom usage etc.). The study spans two periods: a previous policy gathering from 2018 to 2020 and a subsequent analysis conducted in 2023. The study aims to understand the progress made in supporting transgender and gender diverse students through the disclosure of their gender information, including how this information is used and by whom. 
 
 
 The research comprehensively reviews policy documents to observe how gender identity and expression are incorporated, often alongside other protected grounds outlined in the Ontario Human Rights Code, adopting the Code's language directly. However, the primary focus is on the provisions for confidentiality within gender diversity policies. Employing qualitative data analysis in NVivo, the study reveals diverse approaches in handling confidentiality related to a student's gender diverse status. Notably, many policies require the student's consent for disclosure, even in situations involving reporting to their parents and guardians. 
 
 
 The findings of this updated analysis shed light on the advancements made by Ontario school boards in implementing support for student gender information and respond to the live issue of Policy 713 in New Brunswick. This policy requires gender information to be disclosed to parents and guardians for students under the age of 16 to be addressed by their correct name and pronouns. The study offers valuable perspectives on the dynamic policy landscape, striving to establish inclusive and supportive educational environments for transgender and gender diverse students. Emphasizing the significance of safeguarding students' confidentiality and dignity as they express their gender identities, this research sheds light on the ongoing efforts to create affirming spaces within educational settings.

Empowering Botswana’s Future: The Transformative Role of Open Schooling in Accessible Education

This study focuses on the transformative potential of open schooling in Botswana. It highlights its role in providing education to diverse learners by analyzing insights from Commonwealth of Learning, UNESCO, Rumble and Koul (2007), and Botswana’s Revised National Policy on Education (1994). The research emphasizes open schooling’s significance in addressing educational disparities and promoting national development. The paper underscores its role in creating an inclusive educational environment for societal advancement.Beyond emphasizing open schooling’s importance, the paper delves into effective implementation strategies. It aims to distill best practices that maximize open schooling’s positive impact on Botswana’s education by investigating key strategies.

Academic Stress Among Children with Learning Difficulties –A Social Work Perspectives

Social Work is a practice-based profession in which trained professionals are devoted to helping vulnerable people and promote for social changes. Learning disabilities are in which condition in the brain that causes difficulties in receiving and processing information and they can be caused by many factors. In children, learning disabilities can be caused by various factors like genetics, parental risks, psychological trauma, various and factors in a child’s environment and this may be caused by some physical trauma too. Social workers deal with these disorders with their professional skill and technical skills. In India 1.69% of children are having learning disabilities, hence dealing with this disorder and coming up with a solution is significant. The objective of the study is to explore the Competencies of social workers in dealing with children having learning disabilities the data was gathered in shivamogga city with convincing and purposeful sampling with ‘The academic stress scale’ by Dr. Poorva Jain & Mrs. Neelan Dikshit. The findings show that the majority of the school-goings were having learning disabilities but teachers failed in identifying problems hence Social Work professionals have a significant role in schools. emphasizing their unique capacity to bridge the gap and provide specialized support to children with learning disabilities. Implications of the study highlight the need for enhanced teacher training, collaboration with social work experts, and tailored interventions to better serve students with learning disabilities, fostering a more inclusive and supportive educational environments.

Educational trends of 2023 in the field of physical training and education of teaching staff

The article concerns the detailed investigation of contemporary educational trends of 2023 in the field of physical training and education of teaching staff. The notion of education trends was defined as prospective changes within the educational environment and it was found that these trends are oriented towards enhancement of the quality of education and solving the existing challenges. We proved that realization of educational trends in the field of physical training and education of teaching staff requires the consideration of contemporary ideas about training of future specialists of physical culture and sports in pedagogical theory and practice. It was revealed that innovative changes in the field of physical training and education of teaching staff may occur at the different levels like content, using of pedagogical instruments, assessment, organization of educational process. We differentiated educational trends that are typical for 2023. They are the following: transition to distance learning; using of information and communication technologies; realization of interdisciplinary links; implementation of innovative pedagogical technologies; improvement of assessment; creation of inclusive educational environment; building of secure educational environment. The article analyzes the positive changes in the field of physical training and education of teaching staff. It was found that implementation of these educational trends makes physical training and education of teaching staff more efficient and helps to prevent a number of challenges arising due to external or internal factors. Also, the research explains the main peculiarities of realization of educational trends in order to enhance the efficiency and results of higher education.

Building Policies and Initiatives for Inclusive Educational Contexts: The GLIC Italian Experience.

Inclusive education has emerged as a global priority, and the integration of assistive technology (AT) is recognized as a crucial component for creating inclusive educational environments. However, the successful implementation of AT hinges on supportive policies and initiatives. This article delves into the experience of the GLIC Association in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Education, exploring their efforts in developing policies and initiatives to facilitate the introduction of AT in educational contexts. The GLIC Association has devised a service provisioning model in state schools that ensures adequate support for the integration of AT, thus promoting inclusive education.

Translanguaging Approach in English Classroom: Sentiment Analysis of Multilingual Indian Teachers' Perspective

Recent developments in India, the National Education Policy 2020, promote using the home language or mother tongue as the medium of instruction until Grade 5 and beyond. This paper explores the attitudes of multilingual teachers in India toward using translanguaging in English language teaching. Forty-five samples were collected, and the researcher measured thirteen translanguaging parameters to assess the attitudes of multilingual teachers. Using the VADER method, the researcher converted the translanguaging corpus and identified positive, negative, neutral, and compound sentiment scores. The results showed that most respondents had a neutral sentiment toward translanguaging. The researcher used a heat map to visualize the data, producing four clusters labeled Positive, Neutral, Negative, and Compound Sentiments of translanguaging. It can be concluded that adopting translanguaging might help create a more inclusive and powerful educational environment in multilingual countries like India because language ideologies influence how people perceive linguistic skills and practices.