I AM - Inclusive Assesment Map: Evaluating using an app to map inclusiveness – The I AM project

This project, an Erasmus+-KA3 between 2021 and 2023, aimed at developing and implementing innovative methods and practices to foster and facilitate inclusion in education and promote common values. It is based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a framework to build bridges between countries with different policies between different professions and theoretical backgrounds. We examined the perception of inclusive education and the impact of using an Inclusive Assessment App, “I AM,” in the classroom, focusing on participation rather than deficiency. Based on an inclusive mindset, the project created a tool that supports teachers in inclusive practices using participatory action research when designing the tool. The tool will be practical for key actors in the field of education and have implications for policy and research. Inclusive educative systems are characterised by including all students in the sense that students are present, participate and learn in school with other students. The ICF framework of I AM focuses on improving and facilitating inclusion by assessing the school environment, emphasising functioning and participation rather than individual deficiencies. The aim is to address the common challenges most countries face concerning inclusion in a school welcoming all students. A shared challenge is that many students needing additional support often also participate in school activities to a lower degree than others. Another challenge is that teachers face problems attending to individual students and groups simultaneously. Focusing on participation and environmental factors presents a new way to address such issues. Facilitating inclusion through the relationship between participation and the environment relates to Availability, Accessibility, Affordability, Accommodability and Acceptability as different aspects of the environment. These 5 A:s were used to analyse inclusiveness. In collaboration with teachers, this study aimed to create and evaluate a tool, an app called I AM, that was based on the ICF to examine if it could support teachers in their work. The teacher training consisted of two workshops. The first was related to the ICF framework, participation, and environmental factors. The second workshop focused specifically on using the app, identifying important issues related to usability and discussing applications in the classroom. The intention was to include thirty teachers from four c