Effectively addressing diversity in education, converting it into enrichment and strength, is a complex challenge. The Flemish educational system, like many others, grapples with this complexity (e.g., Siongers et al., 2020). Recent PISA results highlight ongoing educational inequalities in Flanders linked to students’ socio-economic status (OECD, 2023). Furthermore, the absence of demographic representation among pre- and in-service teachers, signals a deficiency in responses to diversity and inclusion (SERV, 2020; Flemish Government, 2021) and only 17.0% of teachers report feeling prepared to teach in multicultural classrooms (Siongers et al., 2020). While national policies are slowly taking shape, there is a simultaneous emergence of civil society organisations in Flanders (see LEVL vzw, 2022; Teach for Belgium, 2023). These organisations offer professional development to teachers and urge policymakers to keep the change process towards inclusion and equity on the agenda. However, the role of initial teacher education programmes should not be disregarded. To prepare the next generation of teachers capable of shaping an inclusive educational system, these programmes must put equity in the centre of their organisation (Cochran-Smith et al., 2016). Prior research in Flanders already explored how the curriculum (Dursun et al., 2023) and modelling of diversity-responsive practices by all teacher educators can contribute to this objective (Ponet et al., 2023). This paper extends this exploration by mapping the current provisions in Flemish national policy and teacher education institutions. It aims to enhance the preparation of pre-service teachers for equity and inclusion while stimulating professional development of teacher educators in the matter. This study employs the methodology of the broader EU-project. Preliminary findings confirm the lack of national policy to ensure adequate preparation for equity and inclusion of both pre-service teachers and teacher educators. In the absence of national-level-policies, most programmes develop their own policies and guidance addressing this matter. However, delving deeper into the data reveals that many of these policies are not well translated into concrete actions that foster targeted professionalisation of teacher educators on the one hand, and cohesive curriculum development for pre-service teachers on the other hand. Consequently, many teacher educators are individually sorting out what practises for inclusion and equity they could implement, feeling little support or incentive to do this. To affect change in Flanders, there is an urgent need to address this lack of commitment on both national and institutional fronts, while providing tailored professional development for all teacher educators.

Cochran-Smith, M., Ell, F., Grudnoff, L., Haigh, M., Hill, M., & Ludlow, L. (2016). Initial teacher education: What does it take to put equity at the center? Teaching and Teacher Education, 57, 67-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.03.006 Dursun, H., Claes, E., & Ağırdağ, O. (2023). Coursework, field-based teaching practices, and multicultural experiences: Analyzing the determinants of preservice teachers’ ethnocultural diversity knowledge. Teaching and Teacher Education, 126, 104077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104077 Flemish Government. (2021). Nulmeting herkomst leerkrachten in het Vlaamse onderwijs. Departement Onderwijs en Vorming. LEVL vzw. (2022). Diversiteit in het onderwijspersoneel. LEVL vzw. OECD. (2023). PISA 2022 Results (Volume I). Ponet, B., De Clerck, A., Vantieghem, W., Tack, H., & Vanderlinde, R. (2023). Uncovering the role of teacher educators in the reduction of inequalities in education: A critical discourse analysis. Social Psychology of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-023-09818-7 SERV. (2020). Diversiteit binnen het onderwijzend personeel. Commissie diversiteit. Siongers, J., Spruyt, B., Van Droogenbroeck, F., Bongaerts, B., & Kavadias, D. (2020). TALIS 2018 Vlaanderen - Verdiepend rapport diversiteit (p. 84). Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Teach for Belgium (2023, 5 December). Inclusieve leraarskamers: een werk van en voor iedereen. https://teachforbelgium.be/nl/elementor-26562/.