Universal Design for Learning in Action: Inclusive Teaching Practices from Early Childhood through to Higher Education

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55777/rea.v18i36.8013

Keywords:

Universal Design for Learning, Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, Secondary Education, University

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the practical application of UDL by analysing how 100 teachers committed to inclusive education, working across early childhood, primary, secondary and higher education in the province of Seville, implement UDL in their classroom practices. The study seeks to identify similarities and differences between the different educational stages in relation to the three UDL principles, their guidelines and respective considerations, following version 3.0 proposed by CAST. A multiple case study was conducted, and the data emerged through an individual semi-structured interview protocol addressing teachers’ beliefs, knowledge, instructional design and teaching actions. Data analysis was qualitative and based on thematic coding. The results show a clear tendency towards the incorporation of UDL principles across all educational stages; however, systematic and full implementation has not yet been achieved. The conclusions recommend that universities assume an active role in UDL training and in the creation of support networks, accompanying teachers and ensuring its application across all educational stages.

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Author Biographies

Inmaculada Orozco, Universidad Jaume I, España

Ramón y Cajal researcher in the Department of Didactics and Educational Organisation at the Faculty of Education Sciences of the University of Seville. She holds a PhD in Education and a Master's degree in Special Educational Needs and Attention to Diversity in Schools. Her research, from a qualitative and narrative approach, focuses on inclusive pedagogy at different educational stages, disability in higher education, teacher training and participatory action research with schools. She is a member of the IDEA Research Group (Innovation, Development, Evaluation and Advice – HUM423) and the international network WERA IRN ‘Student Voice for Promoting Equity and Inclusion in Schools’. She has published a wide variety of articles in internationally renowned journals. She is a member of the editorial board of the journal Teaching in Higher Education.

 

m, Universidad de Sevilla, España

Professor of Didactics and School Organisation at the Faculty of Education Sciences of the University of Seville. Her research, from a qualitative approach, focuses on inclusive education and exclusion at different educational stages, diversity, innovative teaching and learning methodologies, universal learning design and disability in higher education.
She has directed national and European projects. She has numerous publications in journals indexed in the top quartiles of the Web of Science and Scopus. She is also the author and editor of books published by prestigious publishing houses. She has given national and international lectures and has been an international examiner for doctorates and academic promotion at prestigious universities.
She is the coordinator of the scientific area of Education at the State Research Agency. She collaborates in the evaluation of other agencies. She is an associate editor of the European Journal of Special Needs Education.

Sofia Freire, UIDEF, Instituto de Educação, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

She holds a degree in Psychology, a master's degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology, and a PhD in Education, with a thesis on inclusion. She is an adjunct professor at the Institute of Education of the University of Lisbon. Her research interests focus on issues of educational inclusion, in particular the social participation of students and the professional development of teachers for inclusive education. She has coordinated and led national and international projects on these topics and has published several articles in national and international journals. More recently, she has been interested in issues of inclusion in higher education.

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PORTADA_VOLUMEN 18, NÚMERO 36

Published

2026-03-07

How to Cite

Orozco, I., m, & Freire, S. (2026). Universal Design for Learning in Action: Inclusive Teaching Practices from Early Childhood through to Higher Education. Journal of Learning Styles, 18(36), 325–340. https://doi.org/10.55777/rea.v18i36.8013