L’uso dell’Index for Inclusion and Empowerment e lo sviluppo dell’idea di didattica inclusiva nelle scuole Palestinesi dell’area di Gerusalemme Est The use of the Index for Inclusion and Empowerment and the development of the idea of inclusive education in the East Jerusalem area’s schools

This contribution presents the results of a research carried out in four schools in East Jerusalem area during the academic year 2018/19. The aim was testing the use of the Index for Inclusion and Empowerment (IIE) as tool for promoting a level of instructional design more attentive to the dimensions of equity, inclusion and self-determination of all those involved in educational processes. The IIE, built during years of work on the Palestinian territory (Taddei and Pacetti, 2018), aims to enrich the original tool of the Index for Inclusion (Booth and Ainscow, 2002), focused on inclusion, with the concept of empowerment. This choice is motivated by a careful reflection about the characteristics of the Palestinian reality, strongly determined by conditions of violence, conflict and different forms of individual and social freedom’s limitations. What are the representations of Palestinian teachers regarding the concepts of empowerment and inclusive education? What are the teachers' perceptions about the level of Palestinian schools’ inclusion? What is the impact that the use of the IIE has on instructional design practices? The research highlights the effectiveness of the IIE as a tool to better identify pupils' needs and then make appropriate designs. It also highlights the constraints of an international cooperation structure (who pays little attention to the continuity of educational projects) and the limits of the Palestinian school system (which does not foresee teachers payments for the hours spent planning and designing).