From pecking orders to forest networks: Reimagining inclusion through biodiversity

Abstract This article reimagines exclusion in education through the contrasting lenses of animal privilege, competition, and conformity, akin to the pecking order observed in some animal species. However, more inclusive and neuro‐affirming frameworks can be found in the cooperative strategies of plant ecosystems. Drawing on evolutionary biology, plant communication science, and neurodiversity theory, this article challenges deficit‐based approaches to inclusion and calls for a redesign of education systems based on mutualism, sustainability, and interdependence. It explores the hidden emotional cost of masking, the systemic misunderstanding of emotionally based school non‐attendance (EBSNA), and the role of cultural norms and invisible bias in excluding neurodivergent pupils. In place of behaviourist or compliance‐based models, the paper advocates for Universal Design for Learning as an ecologically grounded framework for transformation. The paper uses metaphors from forest ecology to conceptualise inclusive pedagogy not as a technical fix, but as a cultural shift. By embracing complexity and relational thinking, educators can build environments where neurodivergent children are not asked to mask or assimilate but are instead recognised and supported as essential members of a biodiverse learning ecosystem. These ecological insights, rooted in ecosystems thinking, offer compelling possibilities for a more humane, interdependent, and sustainable vision of inclusion in practice and policy.