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In many countries, schools and classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse along a variety of dimensions, including migration; ethnic groups, national minorities and Indigenous peoples; gender; gender identity and sexual orientation; special education needs; and giftedness. To navigate this diversity, adopting a multidimensional and intersectional lens could help education systems promote equity and inclusion in education and foster the well-being and learning of all students. Such an approach could also support education systems in preparing all individuals so that they can engage with others in increasingly complex and diverse societies. To build equitable and inclusive education systems, analysing policy issues regarding governance arrangements, resourcing schemes, capacity building, school-level interventions, and monitoring and evaluation is key. The Strength through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies project seeks to help governments and education systems address diversity to achieve more equitable and inclusive education systems. This paper presents the project’s theoretical and analytical framework.

OECD countries have developed various practices and policy approaches to promote inclusive education systems for students with special education needs (SEN), which include learning disabilities, physical impairments and mental disorders. Among the latter, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a particularly relevant: being often comorbid with other learning disabilities, it causes significant difficulties in academic and social outcomes to affected students. Compared to other disorders that can cause difficulties to students, ADHD is less consistently accepted as an impairing condition. Mapping and analysing the key elements of diverse practices across OECD countries is fundamental to correctly define the situation of students with ADHD in education systems and the future direction of policy-making. Through a holistic approach, the paper adopts the analytical framework developed by the OECD’s Strength through Diversity project: Education for Inclusive Societies to analyse policies and practices to include students with ADHD in education systems and promote their well-being.