People share common traits; however, as unique beings, it is normal for us to be different. During childhood and adolescence, these differences can become enormous and that is why each course and each classroom are a miniature world : no two students are the same, nor are there two groups of students the same .

But diversity is not a scourge of the educational system, but rather a value that we must appreciate for its great benefit to society.

Differences between individuals are due to three conditions : biological, psychological and social. In addition, human development comprises five dimensions that in turn create more individual differences. These dimensions are cognitive, social, physical, emotional and spiritual. With such a large number of factors and variables in continuous combination and transformation, each human being must have the opportunity to obtain the maximum performance with the means available in his or her context.

The inclusion of students with functional and cognitive diversity in the classrooms of educational centers is one of the bases of the recent educational law in Spain and is part of all the declarations and conventions on human rights ( human rights , children’s rights , Salamanca Declaration and Framework for Action on Special Education Needs , etc.) that are based on the principles of human dignity, the common good and social justice.

But what is its practical application? How can teachers not only cope with students with very different needs and academic development, but also turn the differences into something enriching that allows teaching in an increasingly personalized and specific way for each student?

The transformation of schools

Educational inclusion is a process of sociocultural transformation of schools: it is a heterogeneous transformation because it depends on the very diverse contexts of each center. This sociocultural transition must take into account the type of society (geographically, politically, historically and economically) and the culture of the environment in which each school operates.

What are the families that come with their children like, what social and cultural attitudes exist in the educational community, what barriers prevent or hinder the educational process: all these issues will make each center manage the process differently, and will be one of the keys to achieving social inclusion.

Theoretical guidelines

The educational model on which inclusion is based is focused on the personalization of learning , which is achieved through the involvement of the entire scientific and professional community. The community agrees on the minimum requirements that must be taken into account in order to act in an inclusive manner, proposes strategic lines of action in the classroom, center and community, and foresees how it will evaluate ( self-evaluation, hetero-evaluation and co-evaluation ) both the model and the effects that are manifested in practice.

Educating in an inclusive way means designing the teaching process in an open and flexible way: taking into account the context of the participants in it (teachers, students and families) and combining their individual differences in an environment that is as unrestrictive as possible to achieve their maximum potential development. The “Inclusion Index” from the beginning of the 21st century developed by Booth, Ainscow and their collaborators serves to guarantee the presence, participation and learning of all students.

The practical keys

How can a personalized education be achieved in a context of diversity? Teachers take on the challenge of designing an inclusive education through the teaching proposals they program annually. The personalization of learning will take as a starting point, precisely, the initial state of each student in the learning situation they face. Thus, they will use different moments of the school day to get to know their students and define the barriers and strengths that make up the group.

The first days of the course are a good opportunity for children to express their interests, skills and knowledge about specific situations that are evoked through dialogues, debates or assemblies and in which the teacher obtains information rich in details about what will help or hinder learning with their group. Families can provide valuable information in the first tutorials of the course, as well as through simple instruments to collect information about previous experiences (emotional, social issues).

Common but open proposals

Each student, with their abilities and difficulties, will have to respond to the didactic challenge by incorporating knowledge, developing skills and shaping their attitudes based on the competencies they must demonstrate. The proposal must be open and comprehensive with the different rhythms and personal characteristics that we will encounter in the classroom.

For example, in the Environmental Knowledge class we must all study the solar system. The teacher can propose tasks that work on the essentials, such as the planets, satellites, the sun, the axes… But, in addition, he can give the option of going deeper into the specific characteristics of a planet, or into the organization and representation of all the elements of the universe, or into any other knowledge with which to develop a potential talent of one or more children. All this once the basic part of the learning prescribed by the base curriculum design has been guaranteed.

It is not a question of everyone studying whatever they want, but of allowing for certain margins of flexibility. Another possibility is to offer different means of accessing or expressing knowledge or skills. “Creating a sustainable daily diary”, for example, is a type of task that can be expressed and presented orally or in writing, with more or less text, with or without images, on paper or digitally.

None of these methods compromise the learning objective: that students recognize sustainable consumption habits in their daily lives.

Inclusive proposals

Examples of these inclusive proposals are universal design for learning , the Roma Project and learning communities .

Currently, the Spanish educational law proposes universal design so that teachers plan their classes thinking of everyone from the beginning, and therefore attending to three principles : involvement, representation and action and expression.

There are also full inclusion initiatives such as the “Oriented to the future” project , which provides guidance with initiatives and resources.

Education should aim to improve people throughout their lives, regardless of their social, economic, psychological or cognitive background. Inclusion encourages everyone to become an active part of society.

Author Bio: Carmen Maria Munoz Herrera is Professor of Didactics and Inclusive Education at CEU Cardenal Herrera University