“This is not a normal school… that’s the difference”: echoes of the inclusive actions of a teachers’ association in Athens during the pandemic, through the eyes of mothers of the school.
This thesis explores the effects of the inclusive actions of a teachers’ association during the pandemic, which had the central aim of not excluding any child from the educational process. The field of the research is a public school in the center of Athens, with a high percentage of refugee/immigrant children, the majority of whom come from vulnerable social groups. The school has developed actions over the last 20 years that have given it its special characteristics and have helped the connection with the community, strengthen the relationship between families and the school, empower and train its teachers. The research draws its material from ten interviews with mothers from the school and attempts to capture the echo of these actions through their words. An important feature of the research is my double role in it, as a teacher and as a researcher. In addition to documenting an example of action and resistance to governments directives that excluded groups of students (compulsory computer assisted learning without the provision of appropriate equipment), the purpose of the research is to highlight the ways in which a school can operate inclusively with a goal to remove social and educational inequalities. The findings reflect mothers’ difficulties in meeting both the needs of everyday life and new educational needs, difficulties that are related and differentiated according to the cultural capital and social class of each family. All mothers highlighted the positive attitude of the school and the sense of belonging they experience as members of its community. The school in the study was able to support the children and their families through the various activities it developed and stayed ‘together’ during the period of mandatory social distancing.