Various Perceptions of Inclusive School: Q Methodological Study

Abstract

Although inclusive education has become a global norm, it cannot be said that there is a universal definition of it. Namely, the ideas of what inclusive education is are formed in a local context under the influence of societal, political, economic and cultural forces. This is confirmed also by results of the research the subject of which was examination of perceptions of inclusive school formed in the Slovak socio-cultural context. The aim of the research was to find out how education actors (teachers, school headmasters, teaching assistants, specialists providing support to pupils, parents) think about the concept "inclusive school". For this purpose, the Q-methodology was used that produced eight various descriptions of inclusive school. They uncovered various contexts in which education actors´ ideas about inclusive school were formed. Some are wider, others refer to socio-cultural specifics of the country; others are more personal, reflecting personal experience, inner beliefs or even projected ideas and desires. The research shows that the pedagogical discourse about inclusive education in Slovakia is not only specific, but also internally variable. Received: 4 May 2021 / Accepted: 21 July 2021 / Published: 5 September 2021