Learning for all: Exploring the relationship between inclusion and achievement in a Primary setting

All education practitioners have a responsibility to support the participation and achievement of all children within learning communities – particularly within increasingly diverse societies. Inclusive pedagogy allows an exploration of what education practitioners believe, know and do, alongside the research literature on inclusive approaches to teaching, to support this participation and achievement. By utilising the Framework for Participation (Florian et al., 2017), this research aims to understand how the concepts of inclusion and achievement are constructed within a local primary school recognised as being inclusive of its diverse population. This single-site case study incorporated multiple methods of data collection, within an iterative process, and utilised deductive thematic analysis to draw key themes around what practitioners and the school community believe, know and do. The Framework for Participation allowed for an in-depth socio-cultural exploration of inclusion and achievement, including tensions and contradictions, which are highlighted. Ways in which this research methodology can complement and extend the reflective development of inclusive practices in schools are discussed.