Inequality indexes in Spain have increased in recent years, and it is possible to observe how the inequality gap has grown more rapidly due to the effects of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 (FOESSA, 2021). Similarly, the rate of population at risk of poverty in Spain is one of the highest among EU countries (EAPN, 2020). This situation is mirrored in Spanish schools: according to the 2018 Pisa Report, 36.4% of students from disadvantaged backgrounds have low academic performance, compared to only 9.5% of students located in the first quartile of the socioeconomic index (OECD, 2021).

Educational institutions, therefore, have an important role to play in the fight against inequality and in promoting inclusion; firstly, as places where students from different socio-cultural and economic contexts can live together and, secondly, as a privileged place for the acquisition of tools that allow the most vulnerable students to escape from this situation of exclusion (UNESCO, 1994). 

The educational challenge of social inclusion demands a teacher training process that provides future teachers with the skills required for educational inclusion. At any stage of education, it is necessary to have teachers well trained in inclusive education to meet the diversity of students (Medina García et al., 2020). 

The aim of the research presented in this paper is to understand how inclusive education policies and practices are answered and represented by different social and educational agents in different social contexts from a multidisciplinary perspective. In particular, this research focuses on the policies of inclusion and exclusion that underpin the initial and in-service teacher training in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, (situated in the South of Spain), in the framework of a research project that analyzes the needs of inclusive education in three different regions of Spain. This research is also committed with increasing teachers' participation in both identifying and searching for solutions aimed towards a process of social transfer of knowledge, to increase the levels of social inclusion and the priorities to advance towards inclusion and equity.

We start from a participatory and collaborative research methodology, with references from different agents, social contexts and from a multidisciplinary perspective (Armstrong & More, 2005). The research project is developed in four phases. In the first phase, a report on educational inclusion/exclusion policies was prepared with the participation of specialized agents and professionals. For the elaboration of this report, a collaborative and multi-argumentative research and writing procedure has been followed, with descriptive approach and based on evidences (statistics, regional regulations, published reports, etc.) and other data gathered from primary sources (Kemmis et al., 2013). These reports have been used to focalize the research topics and to develop semi-structured interview guidelines for the different groups participating in the research. In this paper we will report on the work undertaken in this phase with a sample of teachers who were invited to reflect and narrate their experiences, beliefs and perspectives on how the current educational policy of the Andalusian community affected the initial training and in-service professional development on inclusive education. From the data obtained in the descriptive phase of the report, maps of priorities against educational exclusion are being elaborated through a participatory research process. The final result of the research will be a set of social transference actions, which will achieve a scientific and social impact in favor of educational inclusion through training programs and transformation of educational contexts. This paper presents the results of 6 interviews with primary and secondary school teachers about their training on inclusion/exclusion. A snowball sampling method has been followed. In all cases, they participated in an in-depth interview based on the aforementioned report, discussing and contributing new perspectives to it. Data analysis of the recorded interviews and narratives is being developed following a discourse content analysis (Mayring, 2000) which is, once developed, negotiated with the reporting agents.

The preliminary findings show that the teachers who were interviewed share a perception that reveals a series of political-administrative and training barriers that hinder the overcoming of situations of educational exclusion. In particular, one of the greatest concerns of the participating teachers was the limited training on educational inclusion/exclusion both in initial training and in-service professional development stage, which makes it difficult in many cases to recognize the students' circumstances of exclusion and to adopt the appropriate strategies and actions to promote their inclusion. On the other hand, it is also highlighted that the scarce training on educational inclusion/exclusion is usually focused on theoretical aspects but very far from the reality in schools, often being of low usefulness in daily teaching practice. The information provided by teachers is reframing and making richer the regulations and questioning how they are applied in practice. Also their analysis, when cross-referenced with that of other participants, is showing how it is possible for professionals and agents with different educational backgrounds and working in different settings to collaborate in order to design a multi-perspective map capable of increasing our understanding and priorities of how to move forward in promoting educational inclusion.

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