This study indicates that the influence peer groups have on bullying may be tempered by the introduction of a cooperative normative context to the school setting.

PurposeLearning by making is being recognized as an efficient technique for students to develop knowledge and skills simultaneously. However, one of the most urgent challenges that schools are facing nowadays is to reach every student in their individual profile and potential. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to offer an integrated approach for re-thinking the role of Makerspace in a context of inclusion: the characteristics of this learning strategy, in contrast to the traditional currents, can offer promising paths to successfully build shared ideas.Design/methodology/approachThis paper critically analyses a Makerspace workshop implemented during a whole academic year in an Italian state primary school. This exploratory and instrumental qualitative approach (Baxter and Jack, 2008) included two channels that have been developed simultaneously, namely, technological skills and social competences.FindingsStemming from a long tradition of inclusion of children with various educational needs in the mainstream school system, the authors aim to share a success story of academic and social achievements: all the participants were able to develop at their own pace, sharing tools, reaching a balance between the demands of the task and their planning and negotiation skills.Research limitations/implicationsSmall group size and the reiterated daily interactions with differences embodied in students with special needs, immigration background, low SES, gifted.Practical implicationsThrough ad-hoc training, relatively marginalized pedagogical components (such as the ability to work in low-control situations, flexibility, student-centered learning environments) should be given a more prominent role and can be introduced in the desirable professional development. In addition, national and school policies are prompted to consider its inclusion as a slow-process that cannot be fully achieved in the presence of time and space constraints.Social implicationsThe curricular approach discussed above has shown the importance of inclusion of all students within mainstream schools. Pupils with atypical development can interact with other children, and in this way, they can have first-hand experience of how social dynamics unfold in a real environment. Moreover, they can act in a challenging context where, more often than not, they are pushed to achieve goals exceeding their supposed cognitive abilities. The other pupils are also gaining from these interactions: they can understand different points of view, thus developing empathy, and they can appreciate original ways to approach a task, with cognitive and emotional benefits. In addition, the constant relationship helps them to control their reactions to behavioral problems that sometimes classmates with special needs display and so they deepen their knowledge of and tolerance for others’ peculiarities.Originality/valueBased on the foundational principles of Papert’s powerful ideas and meaningful context, this paper describes the design principles of a successful makerspace, its integration in the school curriculum, and the achieved inclusion of children with Special Education Needs in a group of peers where adults became observers. Recommendations are discussed on how school practitioners can promote young children’s learning through making.

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The paper examines existing problems of inclusion and ways to overcome them in the context of a blended learning environment. The survey was conducted among 74 students with disabilities (7th and 8th years of study) in several schools in Samara, Russian Federation. The authors revealed a strong satisfaction with the blended learning program, as well as a number of related barriers that prevent children from receiving a secondary education. The recommended activities included: implementation of digital learning for these children, starting from preschool education; improving the ethical and professional skills of teachers who work with students with disabilities; engaging parents in the learning process, etc. The paper can be used as a prototype for the implementation of similar blended learning programs in schools for children with disabilities, as well as in future research on the digitization of inclusive education in Russia.   Keywords: barriers, blended learning environment, children with disabilities, disabilities, learning.

Migration floods have dramatically increased in frequency and numbers over the past two decades. The phenomenon is continually changing in characteristics and populations affected by it. The challenges they are posing are evolving, as well, and they demand a difficult shift in the host communities. The focus of this paper is on the key role teachers play in facilitating or impeding integration. We collected data in Italy among 5th-grade students (10-11 y.o.) observing how teachers' instructions and arised empathy can modulate the likeability, ingroup/outgroup identification and acculturation expectations toward a fictional immigrant peer. Results are still under processing, but at this preliminary stage the impact of both teachers and empathy seems to be confirmed, even though at different extents. Implications, limitations and future directions will be discussed.

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The demands that teaching is exerting on school practitioners have substantially changed in the last two decades. One of the most challenging aspects arises from an extremely fluid composition of the student population, with a larger variety of ethnicities, cultural traditions, and religions than in the past. The goals have shifted, as well, and they extend well beyond the transmission of specific subject contents. But can teachers effectively help the coming generations to develop social skills and common values, allowing them to promptly react to scenarios which are impossible to foresee? The aim of this review is to offer a coherent selection of previous findings related to the pivotal role of teachers at nurturing the moral acquisitions in their students. Four sections are dissecting evidence about teaching efficacy, teaching practice, value transmission and imitative learning. Through these elements, the possibilities of a successful intervention will be discussed and confronted with the unavoidable limitations and controversies.

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