Inclusive education: what it is and how it has transformed the school

Formal education is one of the most effective socialization methods that Western societies have built. That is why its theories, models and practices have been constantly modified and in response to the social, political and economic events of each era.

In this journey, and especially since education began to be conceived as a universal right, a paradigm emerged that defends that all of us should have access to formal education regardless of our gender, ethnic origin, disability or condition socioeconomic. This paradigm is that of Educational Inclusion or Inclusive Education.

Below we will explain in more detail, although in an introductory way, what inclusive education is, where it comes from and what are some of its scope and challenges.

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What is Inclusive Education? Origins, proposals

In 1990 a UNESCO conference was held in Thailand, where several countries (mainly Anglo-Saxon) and they proposed the idea of ​​"a school for all".

Specifically, they wanted to complement and extend the scope of what was previously called “special education,” but they did not limit themselves to discussing the conditions of exclusion in which people with disabilities were found, but they recognized many other contexts of vulnerability in which many persons.

Four years later, at the Salamanca Conference, 88 countries agreed that education should have an inclusive orientation, that is, it should not be limited to guaranteeing access to education, but rather what's more must ensure that such education is effective and efficient.

In other words, inclusion is a social phenomenon that for almost three decades has been at the center of the debate on education, which has generated and expanded an entire inclusive movement, which is not limited to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities, but has permitted change the model of welfare and rehabilitation for a model of accessibility in attention to disability, where problems are no longer sought in the person but in the conditions of the environment.

In short, inclusive education is the implementation of the paradigm of inclusion in all areas related to formal education (for example and mainly in schools, but governmental and non-governmental organizations and institutions as well as political public).

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Inclusive Education or Educational Inclusion?

Both concepts refer to the same process. The difference is that the term educational inclusion refers to the theoretical approach or model, that is, the organized set of ideas that promote equal conditions in access to a efficient education, while the term inclusive education makes a more specific reference to the practice; for example when a school is implementing specific strategies to promote inclusion and accessibility.

Difference between special education and inclusive education

The main difference is in the paradigm that underlies each of them. Special education emerged as a tool to ensure that people with disabilities, in some contexts called people with special needs, could access education formal.

It is called “special education” because it is taken for granted that there are people who have problems or needs individuals that general (non-special) education does not have the capacity to attend, so it becomes need to create a different way of educating and meeting those needs.

For its part, inclusive education does not consider that the problem is people, but education itself, which hardly recognizes the diversity of ways of functioning that coexist between human beings, so what had to be done was not a "special education" for "special people", but a single education capable of recognize and assess differences and address them under equal conditions.

That is, education for all, or inclusive education, is not about expecting that we are all equal, let alone forcing children to have the same abilities, interests, concerns, rhythms, etc; but rather the opposite, it is about making an educational model that in practice allows us to recognize that we are very different, both in our way of function as in the ways of processing or transmitting information, so it is necessary to create strategies, programs and policies that are diverse and flexible.

Finally, although inclusive education is frequently associated directly with the intention of incorporating people with disability in education systems, it is more about recognizing barriers to learning and barriers to participation what do they wear for reasons not only of disability, but of gender, cultural, socioeconomic, religious, etc.

From agreements to actions

So what could we do to make education inclusive? At first barriers to learning and participation must be detected. For example, conducting qualitative evaluations that allow a broad and deep understanding of the context particular education, that is, the characteristics, needs, facilities and conflicts of a school in concrete.

Hence, evaluate the possibilities of action being realistic and raise awareness for the educational community (teachers, family members, children, administrative staff) in a way that promotes a paradigm shift and not just the politically Right.

Another example is the curricular adjustments or the accompaniments within the classroom that are carried out after having detected the particular needs of both boys and girls as well as the teaching staff. It's largely about being empathetic and receptive and having the willingness to analyze phenomena not just at the micro level.

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Some challenges of this project

Although it is a project very committed to human rights and with very good intentions, as well as many success stories, the reality is that it continues to be a complicated process.

One of the problems is that it is a proposal to which the “developed countries” aspire, and in unequal conditions the “developing countries”, which means that its impact has not been generalized to all countries and socioeconomic contexts.

In addition, barriers to learning and participation are difficult to detect because pedagogical activity is often focused on the teacher's needs (in the time she has to teach, in the number of students, etc.), and the problems are centered on children, which also promotes in many contexts an excess of psychopathological diagnoses (for example, ADHD overdiagnoses).

Inclusive education is then a project that gives us very good future forecasts, especially because children who live together and recognize diversity are the future adults who will create accessible societies (not only in terms of space but also in terms of learning and knowledge), but it is also the result of a very complex process that It depends not only on professionals, much less on children, but on educational policies and models, of the distribution of resources, and other macropolitical factors that must also be questioned.

Bibliographic references:

• Guzmán, G. (2017). "Articulations between education and psychopathology: reflections on psychopedagogical strategies from the bodies". Palobra Magazine, Faculty of Social Sciences and Education, University of Cartagena, (17) 1, pp. 316-325.
• López, M.F., Arellano, A. & Gaeta, M.L. (2015). Perception of the quality of life of families with children with intellectual disabilities included in regular schools. Paper presented at the IX International Scientific Research Conference on People with Disabilities, INICO University of Salamanca.
• Escudero, J. & Martínez, B. (2011). Inclusive education and school change. Ibero-American Journal of Education, 55: 85-105.
• Parrilla, A. (2002). About the origin and meaning of inclusive education. Education magazine. 327:11-28.