In recent decades, international migration and increased emphasis on inclusive education have raised awareness of diversity in pupil groups and the expectations and hopes of families and communities (Guðjónsdóttir & Karlsdóttir, 2009). For teachers is means a continuous search for pedagogy and approaches to meet the diverse group of students in inclusive schools. Ideas of inclusion assume that every pupil has equitable access to education and that schools organize learning spaces that accommodate everyone in the spirit of universal design. Working in inclusive schools can create tensions for students and teachers, but also opportunities for new ways of learning and teaching. Responding to these challenges and prepare teachers and student teachers to teach in inclusive schools we developed a course in teacher education Working in Inclusive Practices (WIP) based on ideas of inclusive education (IE) and innovation and entrepreneurial education (IEE).

IE is an ideology of equitable learning opportunities, accessibility and participation of all students in valuable ways. Inclusion is an on going process, a never-ending journey, that aims for increased participation in education for everyone, and to find ways to educate all pupils successfully. The goal of inclusion is to work against discrimination and foster pupil’s sense of belonging in school and society. (Booth, 2010; Slee, 2011; UNESCO, 1994, 2001). Inclusive practice, stands for what people actually do in schools and are based on the premise that education systems and schools assume responsibility for organizing curriculum and teaching around a diverse group of pupils in such a way that the learning environment is appropriate for the pupils’ inherent resources. These practices need teachers who have the competence and values to build on all pupils’ resources (Guðjónsdóttir, 2008; Reynolds, 2001). All pupils bring valuable resources and experiences to the classroom. These resources are their talents, strengths and skills, built upon their personal experience, knowledge and beliefs. Teachers who understand their pupils’ resources can better attune their teaching to the resources pupils bring to the classroom.

IEE builds on emancipatory pedagogy applying creativity and knowledge to meet needs that learners identify and the role of the teacher is to facilitate rather than instruct. IEE helps people to develop a capacity for action and, critical and creative thinking through dealing with real-life issues (Jónsdóttir & Macdonald, 2013).

The core pedagogy of IEE has been defined as emancipatory pedagogy where learners are creative explorers and the role of the teacher is to be a facilitator rather than an instructor (Jónsdóttir & Macdonald, 2013). The fundamental process in IEE is looking for needs, finding solutions and presenting them or using in practice. In IEE the roles of students and teachers are often reversed and the student can be the expert in his or her solution (Gunnarsdóttir, 2013; Jónsdóttir & Macdonald, 2013). We introduced IEE into the course as a creative approach to deal with challenges of living in the modern world, and in particular with becoming responsive teachers for diverse students in inclusive schools.  Through the approaches and pedagogy of IEE we intended to support the student teachers develop creative teaching and learning for diverse groups of students in inclusive schools.  

The purpose of this study was to see how we can created learning conditions for inclusive practice building using emancipatory pedagogy. We wanted to give students teachers opportunities to participate in meaningful learning moments applying creativity and knowledge; solving problems they identified in inclusive practices. Our goal was to understand how IEE can help practitioners tackle the challenges they encounter. The research question was: How can we use IEE approach to help students create inclusive school practices?

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