Abstract

Children’s rights serve primarily the protection and development of children with respect to their physical, mental, emotional, social, moral, and economic care (Akyüz, 2000). A school culture movement based on children’s rights is necessary for these rights to be fully implemented (Lansdown, Jimerson, & Shahroozi, 2014). In this context, it has been observed in recent years that there is a great deal of interest in the education of children about their rights and responsibilities in school programs (Howe & Covell, 2010; Covell, Howe, & Polegate, 2011). The school, in particular the classroom environment, appears to be the preferred context in which to intervene to encourage the process of physical and psychological growth of the child, the development of transversal skills for life, and the inclusion of all students. In this respect, the practices implemented by the teachers play a crucial role in the quality of children’s rights education. In this new perspective, the international approach of Universal Design for Learning (CAST 2011; 2018; Savia 2016) allows to underline individual variability. In this contribution, we will present doctoral research based on the application of the principles of Universal Design for Learning for the creation of participatory and inclusive contexts. Through the methodology of action research, we will test the construction of an inclusive curriculum and the students' perception of the application of this model investigating areas of increasing well-being, participation, motivation and learning levels. A particular focus will be on the inclusion of pupils with disabilities in the classes participating in the research.