Exploring Portuguese teachers’ understanding of differentiated instruction through Q-methodology

In contemporary educational settings, marked by diverse student populations, the effective implementation and understanding of DI remain complex and multifaceted. By employing Q-sort methodology, we identified four distinct groups of teachers, each with unique interpretations of DI, ranging from a one-size-fits-all approach to more competency-based adaptive methods. These perceptions include: (1) Egalitarian DI Practices – Student Needs Unresponsive, focusing on participation without individual tailoring; (2) Competence Adaptive – Grouping Struggling Pupils Unfavorable, emphasizing adaptive teaching while resisting segregation of struggling learners; (3) One-Size-Fits-Most – Student Voice Unfavorable, limiting DI to students with significant challenges; and (4) One-Size-Fits-All – High-performing Inattentive, neglecting the needs of high-performing students. No differences were found in teachers’ perceptions of DI across different grade levels or years of experience. Based on these results, particularly in Portugal, genuine practices of DI are not a commonplace but rather an exception. These findings underscore the imperative for targeted professional development to address misperceptions and enhance teachers’ comprehension of DI as an inclusive methodology.