Week 1: Thinking about inclusive education

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4. What does it mean to be included?

Being included can involve the way people speak to you, their gestures and body language and how they help you with tasks. Being included can allow children to feel valued and capable of learning. If children are in an environment where they are encouraged to persevere, even when things go wrong, they may develop a ‘growth mindset’. A growth mindset is a self-belief that someone can learn and achieve. This positive attitude towards perseverance in the face of learning challenges has a significant impact on children’s educational achievement (Claro, Paunesku and Dweck, 2016). In this section we will start to think about simple ways that can help adults and children to feel included and able to achieve.

Activity 1.2 Feeling included

Allow approximately 10 minutes for this activity.

Look back at your mind map for Activity 1.1:

  • Think about the situations where you felt included and note down why you felt included?
  • What did other people do to include you?

Now think about the children in your class who might be excluded and make a note of:

  • any ways that they could feel included
  • what you think would need to change?