About inclusive education
Inclusive education is where all children and young people are engaged and achieve through being present, participating, learning and belonging.
What is inclusive education?
Inclusive education means that all learners are welcomed by their local early learning service and school, and are supported to play, learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of life at the school or service.
It is underpinned by the belief that every learner has the potential to make a valuable contribution to the wellbeing of their family, whānau, community and to Aotearoa New Zealand as a whole. It asserts that our diversity is a strength.
Inclusive education is also about how we develop and design our learning spaces and activities so that all learners are affirmed in their identity and can learn and participate together. It means deliberately identifying and removing barriers to learning and wellbeing.
Benefits of inclusive education – educating for diversity
Diversity is a defining feature of our society and therefore of our communities, workplaces, schools, and early learning services.
Inclusive education provides learners with opportunities to:
The right to an inclusive education
Every domestic student aged 5 to 19 years old in New Zealand is entitled to enrol at any State school and attend school during all the hours that the school is open for instruction. Students with special education needs have the same rights to enrol, attend and receive education at State schools as students who do not. (Education and Training Act 2020).
For more information see:
Education and Training Act 2020: All students have the right to attend school fulltime – Ministry of Education
Every child has rights poster – Children’s Commissioner
What guides inclusive education?
Te Whāriki supports a community culture where all children can be actively involved in meaningful play and learning with and alongside their peers.
The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa require that all students’ identities, languages, cultures, abilities, and talents are recognised.
Systems, processes, and practices need to be flexible and responsive to this predictable diversity, rather than expecting learners to fit around a fixed system of teaching and learning.
Our curriculum documents are non-prescriptive and allow for this flexible learning approach. Schools and early learning services have a mandate to develop their curriculum in a personalised way as they notice, recognise, and respond to the needs of all their learners and their communities.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership
Developing an understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and honouring the principles is a critical starting point in inclusive education in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The values from the Teaching Council's Code define, inspire and guide school teachers.
Universal Design for Learning
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can be used by schools to support the design of more flexible inclusive learning environments. It can help schools realise the vision of the New Zealand Curriculum where everyone is learning and achieving and diversity is seen as a source of strength.
Terminology
Within the guides the following terminology has been adopted.
UDL is a research-based framework. It helps school leaders and teachers:
UDL and differentiation
A differentiated approach is also part of the UDL framework. However the emphasis in UDL is on designing the least restrictive environment for all students. Taking this approach reduces the need for such extensive differentiation as students are able to independently customise the learning environment to meet many of their own needs.
Useful resources
Inclusive Practices Tools for self-review
The Inclusive Practices Tools provide schools with ways to engage staff, students, and their communities in the review of their inclusive practices.
