Rethinking Inclusive Practices: Teachers’ Practices and Students’ Experiences in Chinese Mainstream Classrooms

• In Event: Inclusive Education Through Instructional Practices and Peer Relationships

Abstract

This qualitative multiple-case study explores how seven primary teachers in China organized classroom practices to promote participation for all students. Centering teachers’ practices and students’ voices, data were collected through teacher interviews, classroom observations, and focus groups involving 45 students (ages 6-12) from diverse backgrounds. Cross-case analysis revealed five key areas where teachers promoted participation: acceptance of differences, behavior management, emotional and cognitive engagement, participation opportunities, and collaborative learning communities. Practices varied in responses to diversity, leading to the coexistence of inclusion and exclusion for students, and highlighting the emotional and social complexities of inclusive practices. These findings deepen the understanding of inclusion within a distinctive non-Western context, and offer insights for reimagining classroom practices that foreground equity and inclusion.

Authors

• Ping Dong, University of Southampton

• Kyriaki Messiou, University of Southampton

• Charis Voutsina, University of Southampton