Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.2
3.5
Journals
Education Sciences
Special Issues
Advancing Equity Through Inclusive Education: Theory, Policy and Practice
share announcement

Advancing Equity Through Inclusive Education: Theory, Policy and Practice

A Special Issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102) belonging to the section "Special and Inclusive Education".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 913

Editors

Dr. Marnie Best

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences, Adelaide University, South Australia 5000, Australia
Interests: inclusive education; educational marginalisation; disability studies; teacher education; alternative education
Dr. Foteini Pasenidou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences, Adelaide University, South Australia 5000, Australia
Interests: inclusive education; innovating learning environments; whole school approaches; participatory methodologies; student voice

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue explores contemporary approaches to inclusive education, with a focus on advancing equity, access, participation, belonging and achievement for diverse learners across educational contexts. Despite global commitments to inclusion, significant gaps remain between policy aspirations and classroom practice. This issue is motivated by the need to bridge this divide through evidence-informed, context-responsive approaches and strategies that support all learners, including those with disabilities, neurodivergence, linguistic diversity and other intersecting identities.

We invite contributions that critically examine inclusive pedagogies, curriculum design, assessment practices, teacher education, leadership and system-level reform. We welcome submissions exploring theoretical and pedagogical approaches and frameworks. Submissions may include empirical research, theoretical and conceptual analyses, systematic reviews and practice-oriented case studies that demonstrate innovation and impact. We are particularly interested in work that foregrounds student voice, culturally responsive practices and interdisciplinary perspectives. 

By bringing together diverse methodologies and contexts, this Special Issue aims to deepen understanding of how equity can be advanced through inclusive education to inform policy, research and professional learning. It seeks to contribute to the ongoing transformation of education systems towards more just and inclusive futures.

We invite submissions that address, but are not limited to:

  • Inclusive pedagogies and differentiated instruction across early childhood, school and higher education contexts
  • Inclusive learning and assessment practices
  • Teacher education and professional learning for inclusion
  • Leadership and whole-school approaches to inclusive education
  • Policy enactment and system-level reform
  • Student voice, agency and participation in policy and/or practice
  • Culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies
  • Inclusion across diverse learners
  • Intersectionality, equity, wellbeing and belonging in education
  • Participatory methodologies promoting student representation and/or interdisciplinary dialogue
  • Family and community partnerships
  • Digital technologies to support inclusion

Dr. Marnie Best
Dr. Foteini Pasenidou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • inclusive education
  • equity
  • diverse learners
  • inclusive pedagogy
  • system reform
  • professional learning
  • policy

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

24 pages, 505 KB  
Article
Promoting Inclusive Education Through School Leadership: The Mediating Role of Principal Self-Efficacy
by Anastasia Vlachou and Smaragdi Tsirantonaki
Educ. Sci. 2026, 16(9), 1428; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16091428 - 2 Sep 2026
Viewed by 281
Abstract
Inclusive education depends not only on policy frameworks but also on school leaders’ capacity to translate inclusive principles into sustained organisational practice. This study examined the relationships among principals’ transformational and transactional leadership, self-efficacy, school culture, and the implementation of inclusive policies and [...] Read more.
Inclusive education depends not only on policy frameworks but also on school leaders’ capacity to translate inclusive principles into sustained organisational practice. This study examined the relationships among principals’ transformational and transactional leadership, self-efficacy, school culture, and the implementation of inclusive policies and practices. The study employed a cross-sectional quantitative design involving 452 principals of primary and lower-secondary schools in Greece. Data were collected using the Leadership for Inclusion Questionnaire (LEI-Q), the School Culture Survey (SCS), the Principals’ Self-Efficacy for Inclusive Leadership Scale, and the Transformational and Transactional Leadership Scale (TATL). Both leadership styles were positively associated with school culture, although transformational leadership showed stronger and more consistent relationships. Hierarchical regression explained 50% of the variance in inclusive leadership practices. Principals’ self-efficacy accounted for 45% of the explained variance, while transformational leadership contributed an additional 4%. Mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects of both leadership styles through self-efficacy across all four dimensions of inclusive policy and practice implementation. The findings identify principals’ self-efficacy as the principal mechanism through which leadership orientations are translated into inclusive action, highlighting the importance of strengthening leaders’ confidence and capacity alongside organisational conditions that support sustainable inclusive school development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Equity Through Inclusive Education: Theory, Policy and Practice)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 318 KB  
Article
A Multidimensional Scale for Assessing UDL Incorporation in Preservice Teacher Preparation: Preliminary Psychometric Evidence from Ghanaian Teacher Educators
by William Nketsia, Maxwell Peprah Opoku and Isaac Attia
Educ. Sci. 2026, 16(9), 1404; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16091404 - 1 Sep 2026
Viewed by 114
Abstract
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is increasingly recognised as an evidence-based framework for promoting inclusive education through flexible curriculum design. In 2015, Ghana adopted UDL in its inclusive education policy to address the diverse educational needs of all children. However, existing research has [...] Read more.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is increasingly recognised as an evidence-based framework for promoting inclusive education through flexible curriculum design. In 2015, Ghana adopted UDL in its inclusive education policy to address the diverse educational needs of all children. However, existing research has not developed instruments to assess teacher educators’ incorporation of UDL-aligned practices in preservice teacher preparation, particularly true in low- and middle-income countries. In this study, we developed and explored the factor structure of the UDL Incorporation Scale (UDL-IS) and examined teacher educators’ self-reported incorporation of UDL-aligned practices in their preparation of preservice teachers in Ghanaian colleges of education for future teaching. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 156 teacher educators from three public colleges of education in Ghana. The 36-item UDL-IS, which was developed using the Centre for Applied Special Technology (CAST) UDL Guidelines, was derived from considerations/checkpoints across the three core UDL principles of representation, engagement, and action and expression. We used descriptive statistics to summarise the data, reliability analysis to assess internal consistency, and exploratory factor analysis to examine the scale’s factor structure. The exploratory factor analysis provided preliminary evidence of a multidimensional structure comprising three empirically derived and conceptually interconnected dimensions: Engagement, Relevance and Meaningful Learning; Action, Expression and Strategic Learner Support; and Reflective and Socially Responsive Learning. These dimensions drew on practices across the original CAST principles rather than reproducing the theoretical three-domain structure. The three empirical dimensions demonstrated acceptable to excellent internal consistency. Among the 132 participants with complete data across the 35 retained items, teacher educators generally reported high incorporation of UDL-aligned practices. Reflective and Socially Responsive Learning recorded the highest mean, followed by Action, Expression, and Strategic Learner Support, while Engagement, Relevance, and Meaningful Learning recorded the lowest mean. Regression analyses showed distinct associations between selected demographic and professional characteristics and reported UDL incorporation across the empirical dimensions; however, most models were not statistically significant, and individual coefficients were therefore interpreted with caution. This study provides preliminary psychometric evidence for the UDL-IS as a measure of teacher educators’ reported incorporation of UDL-aligned practices in preservice teacher preparation and suggests that these practices may be organised around interconnected pedagogical dimensions within the Ghanaian teacher education context. Further research using larger, independent samples is needed to examine the factor structure through confirmatory factor analysis and provide additional evidence of the scale’s psychometric properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Equity Through Inclusive Education: Theory, Policy and Practice)
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop