About SENSEI
The School EducatioN for Sustainable and Equal Inclusion (SENSEI) project and is funded by the European Union. We research and promote inclusive education in European classrooms. It is designed to empower both pre-service and in-service teachers with the knowledge to effectively address the diverse needs of all learners.
SENSEI's broader mission is to strengthen the teaching profession and enhance inclusion, advocating for a more equitable and democratic society. While this project is meant to provide a versatile approach across all subjects, it also has a specific focus on methods from inclusive history education and serves as an innovative model for future teacher-training initiatives, aiming to create a lasting impact on education across the continent.
It thus contributes to advancing the Agenda 2030 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal 4: Quality Education.
SENSEI’s 360-Degree Definition of Inclusive Education
SENSEI adopts a holistic “360-degree” approach to inclusive education, which is ambitious and not necessarily exhaustive - it is meant to provide a comprehensive understanding of what inclusion can mean. As such, our definition encompasses the need to think of the following groups of learners as a criterion for a maximalist approach to inclusive education: learners with special educational needs, including high-attaining learners; neurodivergent learners; learners with migrant backgrounds; members of national, cultural, or religious minorities; learners from varied socioeconomic contexts; learners being taught in a language other than their first; and individuals identifying as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. The SENSEI definition further promotes equitable representation of female learners and learners across different age groups, recognising that these groups face distinct representational and participatory barriers that require dedicated attention alongside those listed above. The definition also addresses the importance of consciously addressing inclusion in challenging circumstances, such as situations involving unmet basic needs, trauma, limited resources, or crisis conditions.
Our definition of inclusive education suggests not only that all learners share the same space, but that they learn together, each using their own strengths while maintaining high expectations for all. That implies removing barriers to participation and learning for all learners in a group, regardless of background or ability. Not all barriers are physical (they may be linguistic, emotional, cultural, attitudinal or digital), and thus this process requires the explicit need to educate towards an inclusive way of feeling and thinking, as well as to analyse the manner in which different disciplines are taught, which may either cultivate or hinder the development of such a perspective. The involvement of families, collaboration with local services, and co‑design with the wider educational community are crucial to collaborative adoption, transparency, and advocacy.
SENSEI’s “360-degree” approach to inclusive education defines an ideal goal, although one that is practically difficult to achieve, especially without proper scaffolding and resources. Thus, it is something to strive for, and achieving it even to a partial degree should be considered a successful step in a never-ending process. We do not aim to redesign curricula but to build on existing resources to make everyday lessons more inclusive. Our recommendations target mentalities and systems to add new layers of consideration, with the end goal of improving well-being and educational outcomes.
History of the Project
The Need for Inclusive Teaching
Back in 1916, Charles H. Wesley noted that history and citizenship teachers often feel challenged by having children in their classrooms who come from various national and religious backgrounds, have different social statuses, varying mental and physical skills, and do not master the language or have only limited knowledge of it. Today, teachers across Europe still struggle with diverse classrooms. In fact, over the past few years, we have witnessed an increased number of teachers requiring subject-specific training to 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.
SENSEI Conference 2024 and SENSEI as Guests
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.
We also shared 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.
Thoughtful Thursdays
As part of our efforts to create a community of practice, we developed and carried out two seasons of Thoughtful Thursdays! These sessions were meant as coffee-break moments in the afternoon to break up our daily activities and discuss challenges in the field of inclusive and participatory education. The 45-minute sessions took place weekly on Thursdays and were designed exclusively for SENSEI Network members.
Project Consortium
All this work was made possible first by the contributions of our broad community and by the hard work of eleven partners across Europe. By clicking their logos, you can visit the respective institution's website.
