School EducatioN for Sustainable and Equal Inclusion

The School EducatioN for Sustainable and Equal Inclusion [SENSEI] project will create and deliver courses on inclusive education for both pre-service and in-service teachers, by looking at current good practices in inclusion, testing them in different contexts, and integrating them with new approaches.

Why this project?

In 1916, Charles H. Wesley(1)  mentioned that history and citizenship teachers very often feel challenged by having children in their classrooms who come from various national and religious backgrounds, having different social status, mental and physical skills, children not mastering or having poor knowledge of the language. Today, teachers from across Europe still struggle with diverse classroom. In fact, in the past years we have assisted to an increased in the amount of teachers requiring subject-specific training that will help them create and follow through with educational actions that cater to every child’s individual needs, without removing them from the classroom into a separate learning environment.

We believe that by working together in inclusive classrooms, children become more tolerant and can engage with different students with different learning styles, which further enables them to learn from each other and improve their communication skills, empathy, intercultural and civic competences, ultimately resulting in a wider understanding and internalisation of those values that are at the core of the European Union.

In this project, we will develop a module for Initial Teacher Training and a hybrid International Continued Professional Development course that help in- and pre-service teachers acquire the competences needed to differentiate and scaffold their lessons so as to make the (history) classroom experience more meaningful, motivating, and inclusive for all students.

(1) Wesley, C.H., 1916. The problems of sources and methods in history teaching. The School Review, 24(5), pp.329-341.

Our approach to inclusion

In this project, we will have a 360 degrees vision of inclusive education. We will research practices for the:

• inclusion of students with special education needs, including high-attaining students;
• inclusion of students with a migrant background;
• inclusion of students that are part of national, cultural, or religious minorities;
• inclusion of students from a different socioeconomic background;
• inclusion of students that are member of the LGBTQI+ community; and
• equitable representation of female students.
• equitable representation of different age groups.
• inclusion under challenging circumstances (such as missing basic needs, working with traumatic survivors, limited resources, etc.)

Concrete results

This project will result in:

• The creation of a network of teachers, teacher trainees, teacher trainers, and other relevant stakeholders who are working on and interested in inclusive education;
• The issuing of recommendations for Teacher Training Institutes on teaching inclusion and diversity;
• A module for Teacher Training Institutes on inclusive education
• A webinar series and a self-paced course on Inclusive Education
• Several in-person training opportunities at international events

Achievements So Far

Building Knowledge and Measuring Impact

We have reached a number of significant milestones in the development of the SENSEI – School EducatioN for Sustainable and Equal Inclusion Teacher Academy project. Early on, we developed an internal measurement instrument to understand the impact of our work. Throughout the project, we measure changes in people’s attitudes as they take part in our activities.

Building on exploratory research into the state of the field, we launched a webinar series that offered teachers across Europe the opportunity to explore practical and theoretical aspects of inclusive and participatory education in interactive, online formats. You can review the webinar series here. The knowledge we gained through the interactions of these events later informed the development of the SENSEI Self-Paced Course (read more about it below).

Conferences and Collaborative Learning

In addition to online activities, in Serbia, we convened the SENSEI Conference on Inclusive Education in November 2024, bringing together practitioners, teacher-trainers, and specialists to engage deeply with the theme of inclusive, participatory classrooms. You can read a reflection on the conference here.

We are also sharing our expertise at external conferences such as the EuroClio Annual Conference 2025, LLLWeek 2025, CE EDUCON 2025, and other Teacher Academies’ events, including SpicE and STEAME.

Developing Tools and Resources

Our work continues to focus on creating tools that make inclusion measurable and actionable. We are finalising the Impact Assessment Tool, ready for broader adoption, which will serve as a shareable instrument for other institutions seeking to assess and enhance their impact in inclusive and participatory education.

We are also developing a Curricular Blueprint for Teacher Training Institutes, offering a structured framework to embed inclusive education principles within teacher preparation programmes. In parallel, a Self-Paced Online Course for Practising Teachers is under development, featuring a refined version of our educational game, SENSEI’s Puzzles of Empathy, as a reward for completion.

Strengthening the SENSEI Network

A cornerstone of our project is the growing SENSEI Network, a community of professionals committed to advancing inclusive education across Europe. The network promotes peer learning and the exchange of good practices through regular activities such as Thoughtful Thursdays (thematic reflection sessions for educators). During the second round of these events, we gave SENSEI Network members the opportunity to host each talk. You can find the second round’s overview of topics and hosts here.

We are also keeping members connected and up to date about the project and related opportunities via a dedicated newsletter. You can read the previous edition here.

Research, Outreach, and Dissemination

Our project is grounded in evidence-based practice, and we are conducting ongoing research whose results will be made publicly available. A preliminary result review will be added here soon as well. We also maintain a strong media presence to raise awareness of inclusive and participatory education across Europe. A dedicated, fully accessible SENSEI Project is coming soon.

We already appeared in the media, which you can access here:

• An article in English on inclusive education in the Danish History Teachers’ Association’s magazine (we will share it soon).
• An article in Basque in the Oarso magazine of the municipality of Errenteria. The whole issue can be found here, and the specific article can be read here.
• Televised interview on the local Leskovac Television during the SENSEI Conference, viewable here (international subtitles available soon).

Looking Ahead

Together, these achievements demonstrate our commitment to building sustainable, scalable, and effective pathways for inclusive education in teacher training and classroom practice. The SENSEI Teacher Academy continues to grow as a collaborative, innovative space shaping the future of education in Europe. If you wish to be involved, please join the SENSEI Network by filling in the form below. In the coming months, we will initiate a Community of Practice for the active members who wish to directly influence the landscape of inclusive and participatory education across Europe.