F.06. Learning Together, Participating Fully: Inclusion and Difference as Educational Resources

The panel will offer a critical discussion of the links between educational democracy, equity and inclusion within contemporary school systems. Socio-educational inequalities are increasingly evident at international level in learning processes and students’ trajectories. Democratic education is considered a right that enables all learners to participate and succeed (Varsik, 2022). From this perspective, the principle of human dignity, understood as a pedagogical category that guides care, support and recognition of each learner’s needs and potential (Bruni, 2024), is a key condition for rethinking equity and participation in schools.

Many countries are implementing reforms to make schools more capable of embracing difference through evidence-based approaches, inclusive co-teaching models and personalised learning strategies (Florian, 2019; Norwich, 2023). While the Italian model of inclusive schooling is often recognised internationally for its value-based foundations, everyday practice does not automatically ensure equitable outcomes. This discrepancy between principles and practice raises questions about the role of schools as spaces for citizenship, dialogue, shared responsibility, and the recognition and development of all students’ potential

The panel aims to clarify the conditions, limitations and potential through which inclusive schooling can sustain lived school democracy. It welcomes theoretical and empirical contributions that analyse, discuss and evaluate: (1) teachers’ professional competence for inclusion; (2) co-teaching and collaboration; (3) the impact of inclusive practices on equity; (4) fair and inclusive assessment; (5) the role of socio-economic and cultural contexts; (6) leadership for an equitable and inclusive school culture; and (7) international comparisons with organisational models that differ from the Italian model.