The development of inclusive education has become a policy priority across the world, reflected in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 which places a focus on quality education for all (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2015). Yet, the reality of enacting inclusive education remains inconsistent due to a range of barriers. Teachers are tasked with the responsibility of enacting policy and ensuring equity and inclusion, however they report feeling underprepared for this task in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) and internationally (Florian and Camedda, 2020; Rose et al., 2015). The reported lack of teacher confidence and competence in meeting the needs of all learners signals shortcomings in teacher education and professional learning for inclusion (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2022). In this context, the perception of learner differences as deficits that need remediation remains a pervasive influence which can lead to individualising failure within learners (Florian, 2014). Notwithstanding the complexities associated with developing teachers’ beliefs, knowledge and skills for inclusive education, teacher education must support teachers to challenge hegemonic assumptions regarding ability, and to develop a sense of responsibility for including all learners. In addition, teachers need to have a shared understanding of inclusive education in order to support its enactment (Ainscow, 2020, Brennan & Gorman, 2023). The Inclusive Pedagogical Approach in Action (IPAA) framework offers a way forward for supporting teacher to narrow the persistent knowledge – practice gap for inclusion. It emphasises a shift away from ‘most’ and ‘some’ learners to meeting the needs of all learners in a way that does not marginalise difference (Florian, 2014). Teachers who enact inclusive pedagogy reject deterministic beliefs about ability and view diverse learning needs as teaching dilemmas to solve, rather than within learner problems. The challenge lies in the complex process of teacher change which requires changing teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, practice and student outcomes. However, transmissive professional development models, that do not significantly impact learning, tend to prevail in education. In contrast, models of collaborative professional learning, such as professional learning communities (PLCs) have shown to bring about and sustain teacher change (Brennan & King, 2022; Dogen, & Yurtseven, 2018). While the definition of PLCs lacks universal consensus, there is general agreement that an effective PLC involves regular reflective collaboration among a group of educators with the purpose of improving teaching and learning (Dogen, & Yurtseven, 2018). This paper demonstrates how PLCs that are characterised by enquiry and embedded in contexts of teachers’ work can be an effective model of professional learning for inclusion.  Previous research in the RoI demonstrated that an externally facilitated PLC in a primary school resulted in sustained teacher learning for inclusion two years after facilitation ended (Brennan & King, 2022). Drawing on these findings, this research project scaled up PLCs as a model of PL for inclusive practice through a university-school partnership to support relational trust and authentic collaboration (Chapman, 2019). One academic supported four teachers to lead the development of PLCs in 4 schools over a period of 8 months. Focus group interviews with the PLC participants (n=33) and observation of practice in two schools, validated previous findings that showed improved attitudes, efficacy and practise for inclusion arising from engagement in a PLC. The PLCs provided safe and supportive spaces for collaborative problem solving among participants. This was fundamental to supporting teacher change and resulted in enhanced well-being among participants.

This research study explored how the development of PLCs in 4 schools, underpinned by the IPAA, supported teachers to enact inclusive pedagogy. The research approach adopted was a qualitative, multiple case study design. The value of a multiple case study design is that it broadens the scope of the study and proves its relevance beyond that of a single case study while allowing for comparison across cases (Yin, 2006). The study included 33 participants who engaged in PLCs in their own school contexts. Each PLC was led by a teacher leader who had a postgraduate qualification in inclusive and/or special education. PLC meetings were led by the teacher leaders approximately every four to six weeks in each school over 6-7 months and lasted for 60-90 minutes. Ethical approval was granted by Dublin City University and permission to conduct the study was sought from the principal of each school. Participation in the PLCs was voluntary and open to every professional member of the school community. Informed consent was obtained prior to the commencement of the study. Data collection methods administered by the university academic included focus group interviews in each school and observations of practice. The purpose of the focus group interviews was to understand the experience of PLC participants and the impact of the PLC on teaching and learning. For the observation of practice, three teachers opted to participate across two schools. The transcripts of the focus groups were analysed using a thematic approach (Braun & Clarke, 2006) to coding data, supported using NVivo software. Data was coded using both a deductive and inductive approach (Dawadi, 2020): A deductive approach to qualitative coding involved assigning a descriptive label to pertinent features of the data. In this approach, initial codes are informed by the findings in the literature review and the research questions guiding this study. Following this, an inductive approach to analysis was utilised to capture themes emerging from the data. The formation of themes then involved organising similar codes into categories. Categories were reviewed and themes were formed, namely: changes to individual practice, student learning, increased confidence and changes in beliefs and attitudes.

Teachers work within a system in which difference can be viewed as a deficit and therefore teacher education and professional learning needs to support teachers to acknowledge, problematise, question, and rethink differences in a way that becomes embedded in practice at classroom level. The research findings of this study show that teachers were supported to successfully enact inclusive pedagogy arising from their engagement in critical dialogue, public sharing of work in a professional learning community (Brennan & Gorman 2023, Parker et al., 2016). This was made possible through the university-school partnership which supported the development of relational trust that supported collaborative inquiry for inclusive pedagogy (Chapment, 2019). The key implication for sustainable teacher professional learning for inclusive education in an age of uncertainty is simple and cost effective: when supported by a more knowledgeable other, teachers can effectively lead PLCs in their own schools to positively impact teacher professional learning for inclusion and consequently student learning. This research offers a framework for policy makers and practitioners to support the goal of ensuring equitable and inclusive education for all.

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