CHALLENGES IN TEACHER EDUCATION FACING NEW SOCIAL DEMANDS: INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, AND SOCIO-EMOTIONAL COMPETENCIES

Abstract

Social, cultural, and educational transformations in recent decades have brought significant changes to school organization and to the demands placed on teaching practice. The expansion of access to education, the recognition of students’ diversity, the consolidation of inclusive policies, and the growing emphasis on relational and socio-emotional dimensions of learning have exposed historical limitations in teacher education models. In this context, this chapter aims to discuss the challenges of teacher education in light of new social demands, with particular emphasis on inclusion, diversity, and socio-emotional competencies. Based on a theoretical and reflective approach grounded in classical and contemporary studies on teacher education and professionalization, inclusive education, interculturality, and the socio-affective dimensions of teaching, the chapter problematizes training perspectives that are excessively fragmented, instrumental, or centered on the individual accountability of teachers. It argues that responding to the complexity of contemporary schools does not simply mean adding new competencies to teachers’ professional repertoire, but rather developing initial and continuing education processes that integrate professional knowledge, experience, reflection, collaborative work, recognition of differences, and an understanding of the human dimensions involved in teaching. It concludes that teacher education committed to democratic and inclusive education requires the strengthening of teacher professionalism and institutional conditions that enable the principles of inclusion, diversity, and holistic development to be effectively translated into everyday educational practices.