Sustainable intercultural and inclusive education: teachers’ efforts on promoting a combining paradigm

Educational systems face various challenges: globalisation, the fourth industrial revolution, a global recession, and global mobility. As a result they have to become inclusive of diversity to bring about a sustainable philosophy of social change. It is therefore necessary to overcome the dichotomy between intercultural and inclusive education and pave the way for a pedagogical model that combines both to fulfill the multidisciplinary mission of the contemporary school. We define this combined paradigm as ‘sustainable intercultural and inclusive education’, which aims to meet the academic and socio-emotional needs of all students, while at the same time placing emphasis on intra-generational and inter-generational sustainability with regard to inclusion, equality and social justice. Twenty Greek teachers reflected on their perceptions of such a model, the obstacles they faced, and their suggestions. The analysis highlights specific prospects that may be exploited to achieve the implementation of this combined paradigm.