Building on the needs- and strengths-based approaches introduced earlier, this section translates the two perspectives into concrete educational decisions and practices. Inclusive educational strategies aim to create conditions in which all students can access learning, participate meaningfully and develop their abilities.
\nThe selection of an appropriate strategy should reflect the individual student, the intended learning goal, the demands of the activity and the context in which learning takes place. Strategies should not be assigned automatically on the basis of a diagnosis, disability or formally identified special educational need.
\nThis guide distinguishes between two complementary types of strategies: needs-based strategies and strengths-based strategies. Although both contribute to inclusive education, they have different starting points and fulfil different functions.
\nNeeds-based strategies begin with a barrier that may restrict a student’s access, participation or learning. Their purpose is to adjust aspects of the educational situation or provide the support required to reduce or remove that barrier.
\nNeed → Barrier → Adjustment and Support
Strengths-based strategies begin with an ability, interest, skill, knowledge, personal quality or other resource recognised in an individual student. Their purpose is to create meaningful opportunities for the student to use this strength in learning and participation and to refine, extend or transfer it to new situations.
\nStrength → Opportunity → Use, Participation and Development
The two types of strategies should not be understood as opposites or alternatives. A student may require support in one area while using strengths in the same or another area. A relevant strength may broaden the ways in which a student participates or demonstrates understanding, but it should not replace the adjustments or assistance required to address a barrier.
\nNeeds-based strategies focus on aspects of the educational situation that can be adjusted to reduce or remove barriers. The same need may require different strategies depending on the student, activity, learning goal and context. Similarly, one strategy may respond to several interacting needs.
\nFor practical orientation, the needs-based strategies in this guide are organised into four categories.
\n1. Organisation of the Teaching and Learning Setting
\nThese strategies concern the physical, social and organisational conditions in which education takes place. They may include classroom arrangement, seating, accessibility of learning spaces, timing, routines, transitions, group organisation, access to quiet or individual workspaces and coordination among the people supporting the student.
\nTheir purpose is to create safe, accessible and sufficiently predictable conditions that support participation, concentration, independence and well-being.
\n2. Adjustments to Educational Content and Activity Planning
\nThese strategies relate to what students are expected to learn and how activities are planned. They may involve identifying essential content, adjusting the amount or complexity of work, dividing activities into manageable stages, providing accessible formats, adapting practical tasks or allowing flexibility in pacing and participation.
\nAdjustments should preserve the intended learning goals whenever possible. The purpose is not simply to make tasks easier, but to prevent unnecessary barriers from restricting students’ opportunities to work towards relevant outcomes.
\n3. Adjustments to Teaching Methods and Forms of Participation
\nThese strategies concern how information is presented, how learning activities are facilitated and how students engage with learning and demonstrate understanding. They may include explicit instruction, modelling, scaffolding, repetition, multimodal presentation, cooperative learning, alternative forms of response, opportunities for practice and feedback or individualised ways of participating.
\nThe selected methods should respond to the student’s current needs while supporting active involvement and the gradual development of autonomy.
\n4. Additional Resources and Support
\nThese strategies involve resources that facilitate access, communication, participation or independent task completion. They may include assistive and digital technologies, adapted or specialised materials, compensatory aids, augmentative and alternative communication, environmental equipment or support from teaching assistants, interpreters and other relevant personnel.
\nResources should be selected according to individual needs and used in ways that support the student’s active participation and autonomy. Personnel support should facilitate access and engagement rather than unnecessarily replace actions the student can perform independently.
\nThe four categories are intended as a practical framework rather than as fixed and mutually exclusive divisions. Some strategies may relate to more than one category. For example, a visual schedule may function as part of the organisation of learning, as an adapted material or as a tool supporting a particular teaching method. Its categorisation depends on its primary function in the particular situation.
\nStrengths-based strategies do not primarily respond to barriers. They create opportunities for students to use and further develop their individual resources in ways that are relevant to the learning goal and educational situation.
\nSuch strategies may enable students to draw on their abilities, knowledge or interests when approaching a task, demonstrating understanding, solving problems, collaborating with others or taking an active role in their learning.
\nWhen planning strengths-based strategies, teachers can consider three complementary dimensions:
\nNot every strategy needs to address all three dimensions equally. Together, however, they provide a useful basis for balanced planning.
\nA strength should broaden a student’s opportunities rather than narrow their role. A student who communicates effectively should not always be expected to speak for a group, a student with deep knowledge should not automatically become a peer tutor, and a student with strong organisational skills should not be made responsible for organising others. Using a strength should remain purposeful, proportionate and, where appropriate, voluntary.
\nThe individual strengths and the strategies for their meaningful use, development and transfer are presented in the relevant sections of this guide. Their organisation is intended as a practical aid rather than as a set of fixed or mutually exclusive categories, since strengths may interact and become relevant in different ways across activities and contexts.
\nNo single strategy will be appropriate for every student who experiences a similar need or demonstrates a similar strength. Teachers should therefore consider:
\nThe effectiveness of a strategy should be observed and reviewed over time. Teachers may need to modify or replace strategies as the student, activity or educational context changes. Whenever possible, students should be involved in identifying what supports them, which strengths they wish to use and which strategies help them participate and learn more effectively and independently.
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