Understanding teachers’ professional dialogue in an inquiry community: discursive patterns for research-informed inclusive practice

This study examines how a group of preschool and primary school teachers in Spain, organised into a professional inquiry community, engage with research evidence to collaboratively reflect on and improve their inclusive practice. Using a qualitative case-study design, 16 sequences of professional dialogue were analysed to identify the discursive strategies and recurring patterns that structure collective inquiry and evidence-informed teacher learning. The findings show that metacognitive strategies play a central role in organising professional dialogue, as they promote critical reflection, regulate collective inquiry and support informed pedagogical decision-making. Three dominant discursive patterns were identified: Conceptual Dialogic Reflection (CRP), Cumulative Metacognitive Inquiry (MIP) and Transformative Consensus (TCP). These patterns reveal how teachers collectively interpret, negotiate and translate research-based knowledge into informed proposals for inclusive practice through dialogue that combines reflection, questioning and collaborative decision-making. The study contributes an analytical framework for understanding how professional dialogue supports research-informed teacher learning and the development of inclusive practices within inquiry communities.