Sustainable Inclusive Pedagogical Proficiency Process (SIP3) model: epistemologies from Southern Africa

This study responds to limited empirical research on the relationship between inclusive education, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and teacher education in southern Africa. While these educational agendas are somehow linked in policy discourse, there remains little evidence showing how teacher educators can integrate inclusivity and sustainability in practice. This study explored how teacher educators in Malawi, Tanzania and Eswatini mainstreamed inclusive education through UNESCO's Sustainability Starts with Teachers (SST) programme and its ESD Change Projects. Guided by Bronfenbrenner's bioecological systems theory and Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, the research adopted a qualitative formative interventionist approach using a nested case study design. The findings revealed that teacher educators developed inclusive pedagogical proficiency through collaborative and contextually grounded Change Projects that addressed contradictions between inclusivity, sustainability and teacher education practice. This study found that pedagogical proficiency was strengthened through engaged practice, collaborative reflection and institutional learning processes. Drawing from these findings, this article advances the Sustainable Inclusive Pedagogical Proficiency Process (SIP3) model as a contextually grounded southern African contribution for understanding and operationalising inclusive pedagogical proficiency in teacher education. The SIP3 model is a practice-research and professional development framework for strengthening inclusive and sustainable teacher education practices.