Non-abandonment as a foundation for inclusive school practice

The authors of this article describe an essential feature of inclusive educational practice: non-abandonment. when students' needs and difficult behavior are overwhelming,teachers may abandon them emotionally as a defensive reaction to their own experience of emotional distress and helplessness. non-abandonment represents a constructive strategy for dealing with these students based on the psychodynamic concepts of containing and holding. the authors provide a theoretical grounding for the processes of abandonment and non-abandonment,and then illustrate how these two processes play themselves out in school practice,drawing on action research conducted with educators in israeli schools. they then describe eight elements in an active strategy of non-abandonment. these are: (1) make a conscious choice to assume professional responsibility for these students; (2) stand by students whose behaviour leads others to abandon them; (3) reframe self-defeating ways of thinking to open new avenues for action; (4) attempt to understand students' real needs,including emotional ones; (5) adapt teaching practice to meet these needs,even going beyond traditional pedagogy; (6) create school frameworks in which teachers can systematically reflect on and improve practice; (7) address teachers' emotional needs by making their own negative feelings openly discussable; and (8) promote teamwork and supportive relations among school faculty based on honest feedback and mutual non-abandonment. © 2013 unesco ibe.