Practices and intellectual requirements for attaining inclusive education and social justice in Initial Teacher Education: ethnography

ABSTRACT Initial teacher education faces the challenge of training future teachers to lead the change in schools towards inclusive education based on social justice. However, the literature reveals that preservice teachers may view inclusive education through the lens of special education. This paper presents a contextualised ethnographic study centred upon data production from the author’s own institution and teaching space, working with ITE students in a university in Northern Spain. Within this reflective article, the aim is to identify the practices and intellectual requirements that contribute to educating preservice teachers acting in the interest of social justice and inclusive education. Data are obtained from participant observation, text analysis and interviews. The analysis emphasises three conditions to consider. These are: (i) destabilising common sense, (ii) generating spaces for theoretical reflection and, (iii) training experiences and research scenarios to re-think possibilities of inclusive education. The article concludes by highlighting key aspects and implications.