Inclusive education driven by design: the case of a graduate seminar course

Abstract

This case study explores the use of design tools by educators with an aim to answer the question: How can a design-based approach contribute to the development of strategies for inclusive education? Thirty-five educators, who were students from the final year of a master’s degree focusing on inclusive education taught at a Chilean university, participated in the study. The information collected included participant observation and the analysis of the work elaborated by the educators throughout the seminar. Subsequently, we selected the trajectories of three participants, which were analysed by open coding. The results suggest that adopting a design-based focus helped the educators understand pedagogical problems as systems of relationships, frame problems constructively, think visually about possible teaching strategies and develop didactic materials to respond to the special educational needs of their students. These findings are important in the light of inclusive education policies that seek to ensure the regular education system provides learning opportunities for all students, regardless of their physical or intellectual characteristics.