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Haley Brock, Manukau Institute of Technology, New ZealandAbstract
This paper introduces a reflective framework intentionally developed to support initial teacher education (ITE) students to expand their understanding of inclusion. The framework is grounded in the view that an authentic understanding of inclusion must begin by bringing exclusionary practices to our consciousness (Ballard, 2013). The tool combines Likert-scale and open-ended prompts to guide critical reflection. Students are guided to identify and reflect on exclusionary moments tamariki experience, as observed within their Early Childhood Education (ECE) environment. Prompts encourage students to consider how exclusion impacts the child, revisit their thoughts in the moment, and examine changes they could implement in future practice. Developed with an awareness of the diverse worldviews held by student teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand, the framework honours individual perspectives, creating space for identity-informed responses. This paper outlines the theoretical basis for the framework, its design process, and how it was introduced within an ITE programme. Early patterns of engagement will be briefly discussed, not as outcomes, but as indicators of how the tool may encourage deeper, ongoing reflection. This pilot study invites discussion around the role of structured reflection on exclusion and how this may impact student’s developing understanding of inclusion.
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Conference: ACE2025Stream: Education & Difference: Gifted Education
This paper is part of the ACE2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Brock H. (2026) Shifting Exclusion to Inclusion: Introducing a Reflective Framework to Support Student Teacher’s Understanding of Inclusion ISSN: 2186-5892 – The Asian Conference on Education 2025: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 951-959) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5892.2026.73
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5892.2026.73
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