An inclusive school is a school where all students are welcome, parents are involved and the educational community is valued (Paseka & Schwab, 2019). It is upon the balance between students, parents, and the educational community that educational success is reached in a dynamic process where everyone is called to participate. However, parental involvement in building an inclusive school is a lacking area (Sharma et al., 2022).

Although an ecological perspective suggests the importance of multiple levels of intervention, most inclusive education research has emphasized individual-, peers- and school-focused strategies (Nilholm, 2021). This brings into debate how parents are called to participate in inclusive education, exercising their role as main shapers of their children’s beliefs and values (Allport, 1954; Bronfenbrenner, 1993). The literature shows that there is a relationship between the attitudes of children and their parents towards inclusion (Dowling & Osborne, 2003; Innes & Diamond, 1999). Children of parents with more positive attitudes also tend to show more acceptance towards their peers with disabilities (Wilhelmsen et al., 2019). Despite the influence that parents may have in the way their children interact and communicate within educational settings, existing research involving parents focuses predominantly on the impact of family-school collaboration (e.g., Paccaud et al., 2021) and the views of parents of children with disabilities or in risk of exclusion for other reasons (e.g., Paseka & Schwab, 2019). However, the parent’s role in educating their children on values and principles of tolerance and acceptance is critical in the effort towards achieving an inclusive school, where all children feel welcome and respected (Vlachou et al., 2016).

This demand gains more significant predominance with the movement of recent years of transferring the focus of inclusion from meeting the social/academic needs of pupils with disabilities towards a broader conceptualization based on creating a school community that can nurture the qualities of equity and care (Goransson & Nilholm, 2014). According to the Index for Inclusion (Booth & Ainscow, 2002) promoting an inclusive culture is a key dimension for implementing inclusive education, referring to “a secure, accepting, collaborating, stimulating community, in which everyone is valued as the foundation for the highest achievements of all. It develops shared inclusive values that are conveyed to all new staff, students, governors, and parents/carers” (p.8).

Interest in exploring the role and participation of parents in building an inclusive education is shared among several countries. The different policies systems implement for the improvement of education are often affected by cultural differences – what is expected from parents’ involvement? What do parents expect from schools? With this study, we intend to contribute to this debate with insights from the implementation of a parental school-based intervention – developed on the basis of the opinion of parents of children at risk for social exclusion and a systematic review of school-based interventions with parents.

Thus, this research project aims to evaluate the effects of a school-based implemented with parents focused on enhancing their involvement in promoting inclusive educational cultures.

In this study, we developed and implemented an intervention program – It takes a village – focused on raising parents' awareness of diversity and inclusive education and increasing their direct and indirect participation in promoting inclusive cultures. This program was designed based on the results of two previous studies which consisted of: a systematic review of the literature on existing school-based interventions aimed at providing parents with knowledge and skills to promote their children's attitudes and behaviours to review the main reasons for requesting parents participation in schools (type of interventions – universal or directed to target parents; contents addressed); interviews with parents of five students at risk of social exclusion (motivated by disability or socio-cultural differences), aimed at listening to parents about their experiences and concerns about inclusive education and how they understand the influence of the parents of other students towards inclusion. The results of these two studies provided vital evidence to build the program, namely regarding the duration; teaching strategies and methods; the contents that should be part of the intervention. The program lasted 4 sessions, implemented once a week over four weeks, addressing content related to building a community; understanding the power of words; communicating with children about inclusion; being a teacher for one day. The teaching strategies involved the active participation of parents. Subsequently, through a quasi-experimental study, we evaluated the effects of implementing the It takes a village intervention program with 20 parents from students in 2nd grade (Experimental Group). Results were compared with outcomes from 20 parents of 2nd-grade students of other classes (Control Group). The effects were evaluated in a pre-post design, at two levels: parents - their attitudes and knowledge towards diversity and inclusive education; children - their attitudes towards inclusion. The intervention was evaluated at the end of the study through a focus group with 4 participating parents.

Through the results of this research project, we intend to raise awareness of the need actively involve parents in building inclusive educational cultures. This can be achieved through episodic interventions, such as the It takes a village program. The two antecedent studies brought relevant information considered in the program construction: interventions are more effective when they imply the active participation of parents – information strategies are not enough to produce changes; it is fundamental to evaluate the empirical evidence of school-based interventions – the use of valid instruments is essential to ensure the effectiveness of interventions; the use of discriminatory language in schools is an issue for parents of children at risk of social inclusion. Results of the intervention are under analysis, but preliminary analysis show a positive effect on parents’ knowledge about inclusion. Having parents of all students aligned with the principles of an inclusive school is fundamental so that the discourse and attitudes the school intends to foster are also worked at home. This implies calling parents to the school, not just talking about their child, their potentialities and difficulties, but involving them in creating an inclusive school, a welcoming space where all students feel accepted.

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