Más allá y más acá de la educación inclusiva. Crítica y expansión de su concepto

Lithuania, like other European countries, has committed to develop and implement inclusive education systems. The ideology of inclusive education must be closely linked with proper and appropriately agreed terminology and concepts. Based on the paradigm of social constructivism, discussions and debates among representatives of various related structures, systems and areas both in the international and national context enable to construct social constructs with reconciled and comparable content. Otherwise, new concepts simply replace the old ones but do not change either policy or practice. In various social cultural contexts, such concepts as integration, integrated education, inclusion, inclusive education, school for all, quality education for all can be interpreted differently. This article aims to reveal the concept of inclusive education and how the content of this concept is reflected in the latest national legal documents. The article is based on the study of theoretical sources, the review of international documents related to entrenchment of human rights and inclusive education approaches, and the analysis of national education and training documents. Six documents – The National School. The Concept of Secondary General Education School of Lithuania (1989); Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania (1991; 2011); Law on Special Education of the Republic of Lithuania (1998); The National Strategy on Education for the years 2013- 2022; The Concept of the Good School (2015) – were analysed in the following aspects: essential approaches of the education system, aims of education and regulation of educational assistance. Analysing the above-mentioned aspects, their coherence with inclusive education approaches was sought. Besides, analysing selected documents, the concepts “integrated education/integration”, “inclusive education/inclusion”, “engaging (absorbing) education” and their explanations were sought.
 Educational change towards inclusive education highlighted the need to change established traditions, values and concepts of education and training. Change in education and training traditions began with the approach of implementation of integrated education, emphasizing regulation of integration (engagement, absorbing) of children with special needs in mainstream schools and of concepts “partial integration”, “full integration” cohering with this approach. International systemic change in the education policy, culture and practice towards inclusive education, emphasizing quality education for all, acknowledging and appreciating the diversity of (self-)educational process participants and their needs, highlighted the importance of not only engaging (absorbing) learners in the mainstream education system but also of ensuring their participation and recognition of their achievements.
 The document analysis has demonstrated that the essential approaches of inclusive education are directly or latently emphasized in the strategic documents of education of Lithuania. However, in the most recent documents on education, the concept of inclusive education is not mentioned; its content is not defined. In recent years, it is attempted to find a Lithuanian equivalent for the complex social construct “inclusive education” and to replace it with the concept “engaging education”, the content of which is also not revealed. Undefined content of complex concepts-constructs promotes various interpretations, leads to confusion of concepts (such as “integrated”/“engaged”, “inclusive” education), and impedes communication. The analysis of the most important documents regulating the country’s education has shown that most of them emphasize such educational principles as fostering of humanistic national and world cultural values, development of democratic relations, fostering of the country’s cultural traditions, preservation of national identity, etc. However, the mentioned above principlesarelargelydeclarativethoughinclusiveeducationideascanbemoreor less recognized in them. In this context, the systemic approach, methodological consistency of approaches, their clear links to the paradigm, concepts of education and training and their content are also important. Thus, “engaging” or “inclusive” education? To answer this question, to decide and agree what is what, we should rethink the content of concepts and links with the model of education and training, which we intend to implement – of integrated (engaging / absorbing) or inclusive education, clearly define them in national education documents, not confusing between the two of them.

Education is the right of every individual, regardless of race, creed, gender, abilities, or skills, and children with and without special needs as well. As a long time has passed, those who are concerned and working in the field of education still face serious questions like what kind of strategies or methodologies should be adopted or adapted to provide education to differently abled children and ordinary children in the same context. It is necessary to find out the teachers' practices towards the implementation of inclusive education in Sindh. The key purpose of this study was to identify the practical challenges faced by teachers towards the successful implementation of inclusive education in public primary-level schools in Sindh. The population of the current study was the public primary-level schools of the city of Nawabshah, Sindh. A self-designed questionnaire was developed and distributed among the 16 public primary-level schools (8 boys and 8 girls), and one senior teacher and two students from each school were selected as a sample for the study. The questionnaire consisted of 15 items related to teachers' practices for implementing inclusive education in their respective schools, and five items pertain to concerned students. The SPSS software was utilized for data analysis. The findings of the study reveal that the teachers of public primary schools were unaware of the teaching practices of differently abled children. Moreover, they never attended seminars or conferences and did not undergo any training regarding the implementation of inclusive education. The study recommended that a chapter regarding the concept of inclusive education, including teaching practices, be included in teachers' training manuals so that teachers are aware of the concept of inclusion or inclusive education and teaching practices regarding an inclusive classroom. Moreover, there were some hindrances in policy, school leadership, adequate teaching and learning material, and curriculum.

Inclusive education is one modern trend that many countries seek to adopt as an innovative concept and pursue to practice as an application in conjunction with scientific progress, the education of people with disabilities, and in order to fulfil and abide by the relevant international conventions. As a result, this study aims to discover what inclusive education means among Saudi universities and academics specialising in special education. To achieve the goal of the study, qualitative research was used by employing semi-structured interviews as the single elementary tool for data collection by interviewing the study sample, which consisted of 12 faculty members specialising in special education. Through complete analysis, the study reached a set of general results, which is the presence of ambiguity in the concept of inclusive education among the participants, with confusion between the concept of inclusive education and some other concepts such as “integration,” “mainstreaming,” and “placement.” In addition, there is a belief that there is a correlation between the concept of inclusive education and special education. Finally, the study concluded with some recommendations on the topic of research.

Background: Inclusive education is a fundamental right recognized by national and international policies. Article69 of the United Nations (2016) General Comment CRPD/C/GC/4 emphasizes the need for comprehensive teacher education across all educational levels—preschool, primary, secondary, tertiary, and vocational—to equip educators with essential core competencies and values for working in inclusive environments. The Government of the Republic of Zambia has taken significant strides by mandating a compulsory inclusive schooling module in all teacher training institutions since 2010, demonstrating its commitment to upholding the rights of people living with disabilities. Aim: This study investigates the understanding, challenges, and experiences related to inclusive education among both trainee and trained secondary school science teachers. Specifically, it explores their perspectives within selected inclusive education practices in secondary schools and a university that provides training in inclusive pedagogies in Kitwe district, Zambia. Methods: A qualitative case study design was employed, involving 12 participants: six science teachers and six trainee science teachers. These participants were purposively selected from three secondary schools recognized as successful inclusive schools and a university specializing in training secondary school science teachers in Kitwe district, located in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Thematic analysis was applied to analyse the collected data. Findings: The study revealed a disconnect between the concept of inclusive education as defined by the Ministry of Education and the UNESCO definition. While teachers generally understood the concept, challenges persisted in translating theory into effective classroom practice. Notably, there were discrepancies in implementing inclusive strategies, accommodating diverse learners, and fostering an inclusive ethos. Teachers predominantly associated inclusive education with educating children with disabilities within mainstream schools. Interestingly, student teachers included pedagogy in their understanding of inclusive education. Inadequate funding, the scarcity of teaching and learning materials, limited time allocation within busy curricula, lack of training in inclusive education pedagogies made meaningful inclusion challenging!These findings underscore the need for targeted professional development and support to bridge this gap and enhance the practical application of inclusive education principles. Conclusion: Drawing from the study’s insights, the following conclusions can be drawn: Both trainee and trained secondary school science teachers often misconstrue inclusive education as mere mainstreaming of children with special needs. The distinction between integration and genuine inclusion remains blurred. To foster true inclusion, therefore, it is recommended that educators must grasp the holistic essence of inclusive education beyond surface-level practices.

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to determine the metaphorical perceptions of preschool teachers in regard with the concept of inclusive education. Methods: In this study, phenomenology design, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The study group of this research consists of preschool teachers, who have students either received or currently receiving inclusive education in their classrooms. In the research, the content analysis was conducted in order to analyze the data obtained from preschool teachers. Results: Of the 113 preschool teachers participated in the study, the answers given by 101 teachers to the research question were included in the evaluation. At the end of the evaluation phase, it was determined that preschool teachers developed a total of 53 different metaphors in regard with the concept of inclusive education and 53 valid metaphors developed by preschool teachers were analyzed by gathering them under 9 different categories according to their common characteristics. Discussion: In accordance with the data obtained from the research, the distribution of metaphors developed by preschool teachers regarding the concept of “inclusive education” by categories is observed as follows: inclusive education as the riches of nature, inclusive education depending on the soil and inclusive education as work and living areas. However, the metaphor of the “rainbow” draws attention as the most developed metaphor for inclusive education in all categories by the participants. Limitations: Due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic, data were collected from participants using an online interview form. Conclusion: The study also concluded that the perceptions of the participants towards inclusive education were generally positive.

Inclusive Education - Education for All

The purpose of the article is to consider the theoretical conceptual and methodological foundations of inclusive education in the Russian Federation for effective management and coordination of the activities of educational organizations. To achieve this goal, the general theoretical conceptual and methodological foundations of inclusive education are considered; competency-based approach to inclusive education in Russia; theory of the implementation of the inclusive form of education; basic elements of the concept of inclusive education, as well as the methodology of inclusive education in the Russian Federation. The concept of inclusive education offers a mechanism for the realization of human rights for people with disabilities. This mechanism relies on the interdepartmental interdisciplinary creation of a barrier-free environment, so that anyone can exercise their rights. The concept of inclusive education articulates a social approach to disability. That is, the medical problem of disability goes into the social sphere – a person with disabilities must not only be treated, but also ensure a normal life. Disability is considered as a set of social barriers that stand in the way of the realization of the abilities and needs of a person who has disrupted body functions. The challenge is to eliminate these social barriers. The current strategy of the Russian Federation in the field of education and social policy is aimed at aligning the institutional system conditions so that inclusive education can become a priority area of education. All state educational bodies, state authorities and self-government bodies create the necessary and special conditions for receiving education without discrimination of its quality.

The goal of this article lies in the analysis of theoretical conceptual-methodological grounds of inclusive education in the Russian Federation for the effective management and coordination of the work of educational institutions. For achieving the set goal, the author examines the general theoretical conceptual-methodological grounds of inclusive education; competence approach towards inclusive education in Russia; theory of implementation the inclusive form of education; basic elements of the concept of inclusive education; as well as methodology of inclusive education in the Russian Federation. The concept of inclusive education implies the mechanism for exercising human rights for people with health impairments. This mechanism is based on the interdepartmental cross-disciplinary formation of the barrier-free environment for any person to exercise their rights. The concept of inclusive education formulates social approach towards disability. The medical problem of disability shifts into the social sphere – a person with health impairments should not only receive treatment, but also live a normal life. Therefore, disability is viewed as a set of social barriers that stand in the way of realization of the abilities and needs of a person with physical or mental impairments. The goal is to eliminate such social barriers. The modern strategy of the Russian Federation in the area of education and social policy is aimed at bringing into compliance the institutional systemic conditions in order to turn inclusive education into the priority area of education.

The main objectives of this study are (i) to study the awareness of B.Ed students towards inclusive education and (ii) to find out the difference if any in the awareness of B.Ed students towards inclusive education regarding gender. In this study, the descriptive survey method was employed. The population of this study consists of all the B.Ed students of B.Ed colleges of the South Kamrup area of Kamrup District, Assam. The sample of the present study was selected from all these (03) B.Ed colleges by applying proportionate Stratified Random sampling technique. 30% B. Ed students from the population are selected as sample i.e. 163 B.Ed students out of which 48 are male and 115 are female B.Ed students. A self-constructed ‘Awareness Scale towards Inclusive Education’ is used in this study to collect necessary data from the respondents. The awareness level of B.Ed students towards inclusive education is calculated by using Simple Percentage and to find out the gender difference in the awareness of B.Ed students towards inclusive education, t-test has been employed. The main findings of this study are (i) the awareness level of most of the B.Ed students towards different dimensions of inclusive education such as concept, benefits, attitudes, strategies, and as a whole is average; (ii) Gender has not significantly influenced the awareness about inclusive education among B. Ed students concerning the concept of inclusive education, benefits of inclusive education, attitude towards inclusive education, strategies of inclusive education, and awareness as a whole; and (iii) Awareness of male B.Ed students towards inclusive education is higher than that of the female teachers.

Inclusive education embodies a vision where every learner is afforded the chance to thrive, fostering not only personal growth but also contributing to the development of inclusive societies. The concept of Inclusive education has been characterized by its commitment to providing equitable learning opportunities for all students regardless of their backgrounds, abilities, or disabilities. With these ambitious objectives, Inclusive education has emerged as a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of quality education worldwide. This paper examined various issues, challenges in administration, management and counselling implications in providing Inclusive education. As a fundamental human right, Inclusive education has gained recognition as a cornerstone of equitable and quality education globally. However, the journey towards its effective implementation in Nigeria has been marked by numerous challenges, thus suggesting administrative management and counselling strategies as other options. Drawing on extensive research and empirical evidence, this paper highlights the various obstacles hindering the full realization of inclusive education in Nigeria. It explores the complex interplay between policy frameworks, institutional practices, societal attitudes, and resource allocation. Moreover, it highlights the impact of these barriers on marginalized learners, emphasizing the urgent need for transformative change. The concept of inclusive education includes all learners, but it may be interpreted differently according to the context. For example, while it covers children excluded on the basis of language, gender, ethnicity, disability and other factors, it can focus on children with disabilities only. In presenting a holistic analysis, this paper also sheds light on promising initiatives and best practices that have emerged within the Nigerian context. These exemplars demonstrate that inclusive education is not only an ethical imperative but also an attainable goal when stakeholders collaborate with determination and purpose. Recommendations suggested includes: re-evaluation of policies and a reinvigoration of practices to dismantle the barriers that limit the potential of inclusive education, and employing counselling strategies in order to address the problems in Nigeria. It underscores the pivotal role of policymakers, educators, parents, and communities in fostering an inclusive society where every learner, regardless of their background or abilities, can thrive and contribute meaningfully to the nation's development.

The integration of inclusive practices into the preschools in China has unfolded as a gradual and intricate process, marked by the initiation of the "Learning in Regular Classrooms" campaign by the China Ministry of Education in the 1980s. This campaign signified a pivotal step towards the integration of children with special needs into mainstream classrooms. As the landscape of education in China continues to evolve, the concept of inclusive education has gradually seeped into the area of preschool education. However, this transformative journey has been multifaceted and intricate. This study takes a pivotal turn by directing its attention to pre-service early childhood education teachers, aiming to assess their readiness in implementing the principles of inclusive education. Employing a questionnaire adapted from the Index of Inclusion by Booth et al. (2006), this study aimed to investigate the pre-service early childhood teachers' perspectives on inclusive culture, policy, and practice. The outcomes of this analysis offer a nuanced understanding of the perceptions of inclusive culture, policy, and practice, as observed through the lens of future teachers in early childhood education. This exploration serves as a critical examination of the challenges and strengths that these prospective teachers bring to the context of implementing inclusive education in preschool settings. The results not only contribute to the broader discourse on inclusive education in China but also offer valuable insights for refining and strengthening training and preparation programs for pre-service teachers in the country. This nuanced understanding of the perspectives of future teachers serves as a catalyst for informed enhancements to teacher training, ultimately shaping a more inclusive and effective early childhood education landscape in China.

Objective: This study investigates lecturers' insights into disability and inclusive practices within Afghan Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), exploring the challenges and accommodations provided to students with disabilities (SwDs) in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which promotes inclusive and equitable education. Theoretical Framework: The study is grounded in the concepts of inclusive education and disability studies. The study draws on the medical and social models of disability to analyze how faculty members perceive and implement inclusive practices. The social model aligns with SDG 4’s emphasis on removing societal barriers to provide equal educational opportunities. Method: This qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews with 27 faculty members from six Afghan HEIs. Purposeful sampling was used to select participants with knowledge of inclusive education. Data were collected through face-to-face and virtual interviews, transcribed, translated, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results and Discussion: Lecturers demonstrate willingness to support SwDs, but barriers such as inadequate infrastructure, limited faculty training, and societal attitudes persist. The findings highlight that current practices are predominantly shaped by the medical model, limiting inclusivity. Targeted faculty development and institutional reforms are needed to align practices with SDG 4. Research Implications: This research offers critical insights for improving inclusive education in Afghanistan and other low-resource settings, informing policymaking and development of disability support services to achieve SDG 4. Originality/Value: This study is among the first to explore faculty perspectives on inclusive education in Afghan HEIs, providing recommendations for developing inclusive frameworks in conflict-affected and resource-limited contexts.

Inclusive education is a process aimed to respond to the diversity of children’s needs by increasing their level of participation in learning and reducing their exclusion. This implies a number of substantial changes in terms of educational content, didactic and pedagogical approach, structure of the educational system and educational strategies. In order to effectively integrate students with special educational needs (SEN) in the physical education lesson, it is necessary for physical education and sports teachers to be familiar with the term “inclusive education”. The aim of this research is to make a correct analysis of teachers’ opinions and attitudes with regard to the integration of students with SEN in physical education lessons and to achieve a centralisation of medically exempt students in Bucharest. The research was conducted between February and June 2018 and consisted in applying a survey questionnaire among 157 physical education and sports teachers in Bucharest. The purpose was to identify their level of knowledge about inclusive physical education and to find out their opinions about the categories of students exempt from physical education classes for medical reasons and those with special educational needs in the educational establishment in which they worked. In conclusion, 98.1% of teachers have reported that they include students with SEN in physical education lessons and, due to the large number of positive responses, we can state that they are open to the new concept of inclusive education.

ABSTRACTEver since the proclamation of the Salamanca Statement (1994) and the Dakar Framework for Action (2000), several countries across the globe have been improving their education systems making remarkable efforts towards inclusion. Furthermore, the Muscat Agreement (2014) proposes a global goal and targets for education post-2015. The goal envisages equitable inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030. This article inquires how Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania along the East African coast, started to transform its education system in an attempt to make it inclusive. First, the commitment to and process towards Inclusive Education (IE) is described in the time frame of changes in education. Second, thematic analysis is conducted to examine the contextualisation and definition of the concept of IE, the introduction of relevant legislation, introduction of Inclusive and Learner Friendly Education Policy, and the support provided for teachers to implement IE practices in the classrooms. Finally, the IE development in Zanzibar is compared to similar processes in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the past decade, inclusive education has been a global rethoric and enjoyed significant scholarly attention. Drawing from Indonesian experience, this paper seeks to establish a clear link between disability and inclusive education. The author argues that the concept ofinclusive education in Indonesia is not yet well understood by the educational practioners and policy maker and consequently,has hampered the implementation of this policy in the field. It is only through appropriate understanding of disability that the concept of inclusive education would be better comprehended and implemented.Based on the examination of inclusive education policies and various aspect of its implementation, this paper also offers series of recommendation aimed for better impelementation of this policy in Indonesia. Among the recommendations are adequate resources, better political willingness, multi stake holder participation as well as wider support system.