A collective effort to enhance inclusion in primary and lower secondary education

Danish municipalities, schools and researchers collaborate to enhance inclusive learning environments to enable more pupils to participate, thrive and learn in the school community. This is done in the three-year project called Den mangfoldige folkeskole (The diverse public primary and lower secondary education system).

How can schools ensure that more children and young people experience a genuine sense of belonging?

This question has been at the heart of The diverse folkeskole, in which municipalities, schools and researchers have worked together to strengthen inclusive educational practices and create better opportunities for participation for all pupils.

Through practice-based professional development and action learning programmes, teachers, pedagogues and heads of school have addressed everyday challenges and tested new approaches to support learning environments and communities.

Shared commitment creates stronger schools

One of the project's key findings is that efforts to promote inclusion become more effective when schools, municipalities and education professionals work from a shared understanding of children's needs and a common ambition to ensure that all pupils can participate in school life.

“All initiatives have pursued the same goal: to create better opportunities for participation for all pupils, thereby contributing to their improved wellbeing and learning. We must not design a school system in which too many children do not fit in. It must be the other way around. Our schools must be able to adapt to pupils,” says Lene Hvilsom Larsen, Director of Children and Youth Services in Rebild Municipality and Municipal Project Director of The Diverse Folkeskole.

Collaboration across municipalities has also made it possible to share experiences, test new solutions and learn from one another's approaches.

The Diverse Folkeskole has strengthened the ability of teachers, pedagogues and school heads of school to support inclusion and participation opportunities for all pupils.

A new perspective on inclusion

The project's research and evaluation activities indicate that the initiative has contributed to a shift in the way that many educational professionals understand the task of promoting inclusion.

Where challenges were previously often explained in relation to individual pupils, many professionals now recognise that school structures, teaching practices and learning environments are an important part of the solution.

“Our research shows that professionals to a lesser extent believe that difficulties in school are due to the characteristics of individual pupils. Instead, more attention is being given to the pedagogical and didactic frameworks within schools,” explains Thomas Thyrring Engsig, Research Manager at UCN.

The accompanying research further demonstrates that providing specialist knowledge and competencies in special needs education to education professionals will foster a more positive attitude towards inclusion as well as confidence in their successful implementation of inclusive practices.