This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: For many families, especially those whose children are disabled or neurodivergent, September is a daunting time. Children often find themselves in a classroom with new faces, spaces or routines.
Much is said about the importance of the three Rs for teaching and learning (reading, writing and arithmetic), but when we think about inclusive classroom cultures, it's necessary to consider three other Rs: routines, rituals and rites of passage. Those three Rs are often implicitly part of classroom management research, but as a researcher focused on inclusive education, I believe their role extends to creating a classroom community. For example, my article on alternative teaching methods demonstrates an inclusive routine for learning for all children.
Especially in settings with diverse learners, routines, rituals and rites of passage are building blocks for a classroom where learning and engagement become possible for all children. It is essential to stress the importance of these structures at the start of the school year. Neuroscience has taught us that children's developing brains need attachments to people they depend on, as well as support for their executive functioning skills.
Engagement and motivation (the why of learning) sit in the limbic system. The limbic system needs to be well integrated with the cortex (the what of learning) and the prefrontal cortex (the how of learning). If that is not the case, learning and classroom management become major issues for the teacher.
Overstimulation in a disorganized classroom can become a problem for many children. Creating structures and routines in the classroom gives children a predictable sense of what is expected of them, when and how. Routines free up capacity for the brain to think and learn.
Disabled and neurodivergent children thrive in environments that provide reliable and consistent responses, where routines and rituals are well established. So do neurotypical children. Routines are communal working habits established by the classroom teacher.
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