Pre-service Teachers Addressing Children's Social Exclusion in the Classroom: The Virtue of Identification

This paper shares an experience from a course “Education for Sustainable Development” in pre-service teacher education. When exploring social exclusion in classrooms as a threat to sustainable education, 28 pre-service teachers role-played a specific problem situation, identifying with a socially excluded pupil, her peer, their teacher and her two colleagues. Analysis of qualitative data from students’ group discussions and individual reflection which followed the said identification highlights the importance of organizing learning about mitigation of pupils’ exclusion in ways that supplement general, abstract deliberation with specific, hands-on learning experiences to foster deeper understanding, openness to multiple perspectives and personal commitment.