School inclusion to manage diversity: From theoretical aspects to best practices

Abstract

Several countries unfold considerable efforts in order to develop more inclusive school systems. This move generated different research directions over the past decades, such as the development of theoretical models of school inclusion, as well as the assessment of more or less inclusive practices effects. This contribution intends to synthesize work carried out in each of these two directions. Different conceptual aspects will be presented: definitions, inclusive school assumptions, inclusive education features, and main implementation conditions. The effects of school inclusion on students’ learning outcome and social development will be presented in the last section, before concluding with recent research related to best practices.