Many studies have highlighted the importance of community and cooperation in inclusive education. However, traditionally, teachers are trained to manage their classes alone. Along with the aspirations of inclusive education, there is high pressure to develop school cultures that are more communal and to reorient school personnel’s work, making it more collaborative, in order to meet the diverse needs of all students. In this research, we explored and compared the collaborative ways in which teachers supported their students in four schools in Austria, Finland, Lithuania, and Poland. As a conceptual framework, the research utilized theories of interprofessional teamwork. The researchers applied a theory-led thematic analysis to the research data. The main findings indicate that collaborative action needs to be an essential part of teachers’ work in an inclusive school. The schools and teachers implemented both proactive and reactive ways of constructing an inclusive pedagogy when they supported their students.

The experience of the development of inclusive education strategies in various countries has been the source of various conceptions and practices, which have gradually evolved into the axis of the education policy of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. This chapter presents an overlook of insights that are significant for the practical implementation of inclusive education and substantiated by scientific research. As the perception of inclusive education developed from meeting special educational needs in general schools (Florian. Int J Incl Educ 23(7–8): 691–704.https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1622801, 2019) to recognising the variety of needs of all students (Meyer et al. Universal design for learning: theory and practice. CAST, 2014), the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach was presented to the pedagogical circles. This chapter of the book examines the fundamental aspects of the UDL approach in the context of the development of the inclusive education construct, from emphasising the Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky. Thought and language. MIT Press, 1962) to highlighting the processes taking place in the inclusive education ecosystem (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. Inclusive school leadership: exploring policies across Europe. (E. Óskarsdóttir, V. Donnelly & M. Turner-Cmuchal, Eds.). Odense, Denmark.https://www.european-agency.org/sites/default/files/sisl_synthesis_report.pdf. Retrieved 16 April 2021, 2019), revealing the variety of perceptions of student uniqueness and education differentiation concepts in implementing inclusive education, and discussing the differences between the specificities of education goals and their implementation in the UDL and traditional approaches. The analysis of scientific research allowed us to distinguish the basic aspects of the UDL approach that are significant for the transformation of the traditional education system into a high-quality one based on the presumptions of success for every student and formed on the grounds of inclusive education.

The critical situation in education caused by COVID-19 has significantly reduced the involvement of pupils from vulnerable groups, particularly those with low learning achievements. The aim of this study is to reveal the modeling of the sustainable educational process and the factors that ensure optimal learning achievements of pupils from vulnerable groups in general education schools in critical educational transformation situations. To reveal the factors ensuring the sustainability of educational processes, this study was conducted in three Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) involving 1432 subject teachers from public education schools. The results of the study highlight that self-regulatory collaborative learning has a sustainable, strong impact on the achievements of pupils with emotional and learning difficulties in various (stable and unstable) educational environments in all three countries. The development of digital skills, digital scaffolding, and technological provision for pupils with special educational needs enabled their teachers to have a sustainable positive impact on pupils’ learning achievements in Lithuania.

This chapter presents the conclusions of research carried out by Polish, Lithuanian, Finnish, and Austrian researchers, aimed at providing an answer to the question of ‘How the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) enriches the practices of inclusive education in different educational contexts.’ The summary of the research results is followed by a model of the application of the UDL approach for the development of inclusive education. In the model, the UDL approach is presented as an approach of transforming the process of education and strengthening teacher inclusive attitudes, as a prerequisite for the pupil’s becoming an expert learner, a means for mobilizing the school community, a tool for reflecting teacher competences, and a new perspective for re-interpreting educational practices. The UDL application model is valuable in terms of developing inclusive education practices, as it allows us to see barriers to pupil education as well as relevant directions for improving education in any educational and cultural context.

This research investigates the possibilities for the development of adaptation tools for pupils on the autism spectrum (AS), studying in the first and second forms, within their microsystems. Five mothers and five teachers of children on the AS participated in the research, and their insights help reveal the process of moving from one microsystem to another for a child on the AS. Children studying in the first and second forms were chosen because children experience a particularly significant social turning-point during this period. The following question is raised: How do synergy-driven processes taking place in the microsystems of pupils on the AS contribute to the development of the adaptation processes in these children? The research data was collected via semi-structured interviews and underwent qualitative content analysis. The research results reveal that the development of adaptation tools in children on the AS is determined by a mesosystem that covers various combinations of microsystems, and the synergy between the factors of the microsystems creates conditions for a child’s gradual transfer from one microsystem to another, perceiving the mechanisms of its functioning, and adapting within them. A mesosystem, which evolves on the school campus, within a family, and with specialists, not only encourages the development of adaptation tools in a child on the AS but also helps mothers to restore their inner harmony and actively engage in their children’s education process. In the microsystem of their peers, children on the AS acquire fundamental instruments for participation in community activities.