Session Information
11 SES 09 A, Inclusion and Quality Assurance
Paper Session
Contribution
Diversity is a constant feature in the current and complex social scenery, which is revealed in the new social network layout. Factors like gender, ethnicity, class, capability differences, culture and symbolic references (identity), besides others, are nowadays uniqueness elements that have a strong impact in educational environments. These days, educational treatment of diversity becomes a challenge for quality education in equality conditions.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss further some recent outcomes of an international research, coordinated by Dr. Samuel Gento Palacios (in which we participate with European and Latin American colleagues), which title is Educational treatment of diversity in inclusive environments. We will present data referred to the perceptions of primary teachers about educational treatment of diversity in México, obtained from a group of primary teachers of the state of Sonora, in México, through a mixed method research. In this paper we present qualitative data interpretations obtained of the focus groups approach. Although, we reflect about the possibilities and advantages of inclusion in educational environments and about the conditions that make it possible.
Some of our theoretical references are: UNESCO (2005), that defines inclusive education as a process to address and respond to the diverse needs of all learners through greater participation in learning, cultural and community activities and reducing exclusion within and outside the education system. We also follow Buendía (1990), who states when using the term diversity, from the etymological point of view, it comes from the latin word diversitas-atis. In the dictionary of the spanish language, diversity is: variety, similarity, difference, but on a second meaning it says: abundance, conjoinment by several different things.Casanova (2011) bids to reflect on the inclusive education model involving the systemic implementation of an educational organization that considers the characteristics and capabilities necessary to address the entire school population, diverse in principle and by nature. We also agree with Thomas and Loxley when they argue that the defense for inclusion comes from social justice and human rights, which has been shaping contemporary thinking about the environments in which education is framed (Thomas and Loxley, 2007:161).
However, the conceptual framework from which we start includes an important set of authors that we did not mention in this summary by the extension specifications, but which we include in the extended paper, as can be seen in the bibliography considered.
Method
A non-experimental mixed-type research design is used that includes the survey and the focus groups as research techniques. A non-probabilistic sample was used in which a subgroup of the total population of 178 teachers from the state of Sonora was considered, under the following selection criteria: • Teachers of Primary Education of the public sector. • Primary schools with support of services and centers for special education and inclusive education in Mexico. • Belonging to the municipalities of: Hermosillo, Ures, Guaymas, Empalme and Álamos, Sonora. A mixed research model was used that considered two phases: quantitative and qualitative. During the first of these phases the Questionnaire-Scale on the educational integration and inclusion of people with special and diverse educational needs was applied (Gento, 2008) and during the second phase focal groups were held with teachers of different primary grades in the different localities considered in the investigation.
Expected Outcomes
According to the results obtained, the teachers of primary education present a favorable attitude towards educational inclusion and before the different types of diversity that can be presented in the classroom. A relevant finding in the study is the importance that teachers assign to adequate training regarding favorable attitudes towards inclusion, the constant training that makes it possible to involve the entire educational community (teachers, students and parents). It was found that in primary education schools there is a culture of diversity, where the right to education is enforced and an inclusive philosophy is available. Teachers emphasize the importance of informing society in general about the issue of diversity and inclusion, with the aim of raising awareness and awareness about diversity. Despite the trend towards inclusion found, among the group of primary education teachers considered in the research, it is necessary to point out some of the suggestions and needs expressed by them: constant training to access adequate knowledge about the types of diversity, the design of adequate programs to address the type of diversity and the diversification of teaching strategies that include all students. Based on the results obtained so far, it can be said that there is a significant relationship between attitudes and teaching practice. Likewise, it can also be affirmed that teachers, despite not having training in attention to diversity and not receiving constant training; They have made great efforts in the field of educational inclusion and these favorable attitudes have allowed the development of inclusive practices, primarily to create that climate and culture of diversity in the classroom, framed the equality of law and the promotion of values. However, there is still much work to be done to advance in the study of teacher-student interaction, so that the inclusion process is the most optimal and quality issue for all.
References
Arnáiz, P. (2005). Fundamentos de la educación inclusiva, en C. Alba Pastor, M.P.Sánchez Hípola Y J. A. Rodríguez (coords.), Jornadas de Cooperación Educativacon Iberoamérica sobre Educación Especial e Inclusión Educativa.Madrid:Ministerio de Educación Universidad Complutense, 25-43. Bauer y Shea (2003) en Gento, S. (2006). Propuesta para una acción educativa de calidad en el tratamiento educativo de la diversidad. Revista Complutense de Educación, Vol. 17, No. 2, p.p.13-34. ISSN 1130-2496. Booth, T. y Ainscow, M. (2000). Index forinclusion: Developing learning andparticipation in schools. Bristol: Centre for Estudies on inclusive Education. Booth, T. (2002). From Them to Us: An International Study of Inclusion in education.Londres: Routledge. En García, L. y González, G. (2008). Las Prácticas Docentes en Educación Especial en Iztapala, Distrito Federal. Una aproximación Etnográfica. XI Congreso Nacional de Investigación Educativa/14. Octubre 2012 Erickan, K. y Roth, W. (2006). What good is polarizing research into qualitative andquantitative? Educational Researcher, 35(5), 14-23. Gento, S. (2006). Propuesta para una acción educativa de calidad en el tratamiento educativo de la diversidad. Revista Complutense de Educación. Vol. 17, No. 2, p.p.13-34. ISSN 1130-2496. Gento, S. y Sánchez, C. (2010). El practicum en el tratamiento educativo de la diversidad.E-Book. Madrid: UNED. Guillén, M., Valenzuela, B. y Gutierrez, R. (2010). Procesos de Exclusión e InclusiónSocial.Indicadores, conceptos, contextos y significados.División de CienciasSociales. Universidad de Sonora. Hermosillo, Sonora. Leatherman, J. y Niemeyer, J. (2005). Teachers´attitudes toward inclusion: factorsinfluencing classroom practice. Journal of Early Childhood TeacherEducation,26, 23-36. Medina, A. (2011). La Construcción del conocimientos práctico, base de la identidad profesional. En Medina, A., De la Herrán, A. Y Sánchez,C. (2011). FormaciónPedagógica y Práctica del Profesorado. España: Editorial Universitaria Ramón Areces, S.A Quijano, G. (2008). La inclusión: un reto para el sistema educativo Costarricense. RevistaEducación. Vol. 32(1), p.p. 139-155, ISSN: 0379-7082. Sanches, I. (2005). Compreender, agir, mudar, incluir. Da investigação-acção àeducaçãoinclusiva. Revista Lusófona de Educação, 5, 127-142. Teutli (2004). Diagnóstico de la Situación de la Educación Especial en México. Jornadas de Cooperación Educativa con Iberoamérica Sobre educación especial e inclusión educativa. Recuperado Agosto 2013 en https://www.mecd.gob.es/dmsstatic/ac14aaff-b1db-4f09-9ac0-8d431b3d726d/publi-jorn-inclusiva-2004-pdf.pdf Valenzuela, B. Huerta, T. y Rodriguez, P. ( 2010). Tratamiento Educativo de ladiversidad en entornos inclusivos: con miras a la calidad. En Guillén, M., Valenzuela, B. y Gutierrez, R. (2010). Procesos de Exclusión e Inclusión Social. Indicadores, conceptos, contextos y significados. Universidad de Sonora. Hermosillo, Sonora. Vygotsky,L.S. (1985). Interacción entre enseñanza y desarrollo. Ciudad de la Habana:Pueblo
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