Workshop: How to foster social cohesion and inclusive education? Indications for the use of Index for Inclusion.

The workshop is aimed at raising awareness and understanding of the very meaning of “Inclusion”. According to Italian legislation, all students have equal opportunity to access to mainstream educational environments and participate in school activities. Nevertheless, recent studies (D’Alessio, 2015; Demo, 2014, Bocci, 2016, 2017) stress the patterns of micro-macro exclusion of students with Special Education Needs (SEN). On the other hand, according to Index for Inclusion perspective (Booth & Ainscow, 2015) and the social model of disability, inclusion is a bottom-up process that involves cultures, policies, and practices. Therefore, inclusive values need to be practised through teaching strategies that help all students achieve social and academic success.

Workshop participants will be asked to reflect on these topics: what does a positive and tight-knit classroom community mean? Which factors are associated with a sense of community and group cohesion? What teachers may do to build an inclusive educational context? How to conduct learning activities and students’ assessment in inclusive education? Starting from these questions, participants will be conducted to identify the indicators that would best promote inclusiveness at school and work to remove barriers to participation and learning.

Contents: Social Model of Disability, Special Educational Needs, Inclusive Education, Index for Inclusion.

Methodology: Interactive online module where lectures are combined with practical activities to experience tools and strategies.

Focus on innovative pedagogies

This topic belongs to the cluster “Skill-based pedagogical innovation/Non- cognitive development innovations: learning experiences addressing emotional and social development, cultural awareness, empathy, etc.”