The effect of teacher training based on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) on the perception of facilitators and barriers to inclusive education

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides a framework for using the curriculum to make progress towards educational inclusion. The primary goal of this study is to identify whether interventions based on Universal Design for Learning have an impact on teachers' perceptions of facilitators and barriers to inclusion. The study used a mixed research design and consisted of three training cycles in UDL. Participants were 24 Early Childhood and Primary Education teachers, who completed an ad hoc questionnaire with a total of 36 items grouped into three topics (curriculum and classroom programming, school organisation and planning, and educational community) for the pre and post phases. In addition, each teacher participated in three focus group discussion sessions, corresponding to each of the principles of the UDL. The results revealed the factors that act as facilitators/barriers in the three topics studied and demonstrated the strength of the training model developed for teachers to adopt a proactive and holistic approach to designinclusive environments.