EDUCATION AND NEURODIVERSITY: PATHWAYS TO UNDERSTANDING AND VALUING DIFFERENCES IN THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The relationship between education and neurodiversity proves to be relevant in the contemporary educational context, given the need to recognize neurological differences as part of human diversity and to strengthen pedagogical practices committed to school inclusion. In this scenario, the present article aimed to analyze neurodiversity in the educational context, the challenges faced by schools in serving neurodivergent students, and the paths toward valuing differences through the construction of inclusive practices. To achieve this objective, bibliographic research was adopted as the methodological procedure, understood as an investigation based on the consultation, selection, analysis, and systematic organization of previously published scientific productions, as conceptualized by Santana, Narciso, and Fernandes (2025). The analysis technique consisted of the analytical reading of the selected materials, the thematic organization of the contents, and the critical interpretation of the information. Data were collected from scientific articles, academic books, and publications available in reliable digital environments. The results indicated that schools face structural, pedagogical, formative, and cultural challenges in addressing students’ singularities, while at the same time being called upon to reorganize their practices based on the valorization of differences, the flexibilization of teaching strategies, the conscious use of educational technologies, and the construction of an institutional culture committed to inclusion. It was concluded that the implementation of inclusive education depends on overcoming models centered on homogenization and on strengthening pedagogical practices that respect different ways of learning, thus contributing to the guarantee of the right to learning and to human development.