Teachers can positively influence diverse learners' engagement in literacy

Supporting diverse learners is not about catering for a handful of students with diagnosed needs. Indeed, 'inclusive education is built on the recognition that education must cater for all students, not just those with disabilities' (Ainscow and Cesar, 2006). Reducing learners to one particular diagnosis and teaching to this difference does not support diversity in the classroom. The result is teachers teaching to the label and not the student. For example, not all students who are diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum have the same needs. Indeed, every learner in the classroom is an individual and has their own needs. For this reason, differentiation plays an important role in supporting the diversity of all learners in all classrooms and fosters student engagement by adapting learning to suit the needs of each student.