DISABILITY AND SCHOOL INCLUSION

Abstract

This study aimed to assess teachers' social representations of disability and school inclusion, how these representations interact, and how they relate to teachers' attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities. To this end, we used Moscovici's (1978) theory of social representations. We assumed that teachers' resistance to accepting students with disabilities in the classroom may be linked to their perceptions of disability and their understanding of inclusion. To obtain data from teachers, we observed teacher-student interactions and conducted coordinated discussions to elucidate the proposed objective. We reflected on the meanings and challenges of contemporary schools, which, despite having undergone changes, retain their exclusionary structural characteristics. We identified two approaches to understanding disability: the fatalistic view and the eusemic view, which is based on Vygotsky's historical-cultural conception. We also discussed two ways of affirming school inclusion: inclusion as a form of kidnapping and inclusion as a practice of non-exclusion. According to national indicators from the MEC/INEP census, school education today faces a major challenge: promoting the education of all students, including those with disabilities. In the educational landscape, the inclusion of students with atypical development has generated debate and uncertainty among teachers and has taken on a unique character. Inclusion is a complex historical-cultural movement, as it highlights conflicts between individuals and society. Without a doubt, school inclusion poses significant challenges. In recent years, we have been deeply troubled by teachers' resistance to accepting students with disabilities into their classrooms. Teachers justify this resistance by citing their lack of academic and technical preparation. It is often believed that adequate training can equip teachers adequately for successful school inclusion. However, our day-to-day experience in schools reveals otherwise. So, we ask: what leads teachers to resist the inclusion of students with disabilities in school? Therefore, our work aims to examine teachers' social representations of disability and school inclusion, how these representations interact, and how they relate to teachers' attitudes toward the school inclusion of students with disabilities. To this end, we use Moscovici's Theory of Social Representations (1978). To achieve this objective, we present an analysis of the public policies that have accompanied the implementation of school inclusion in Brazil. A brief historical overview of services for the disabled reveals the variety of beliefs and conceptions associated with the treatment of individuals with disabilities. We present a study of the concept of disability. There are at least two ways to understand disability: fatalistic and eusemic views. We examine how contemporary schools are organized and the possibilities and limits of school inclusion. We briefly examine the meaning of the term inclusion and the two ways of affirming it: inclusion as the abduction of the person captured by the school, and inclusion as a practice of non-exclusion, where the focus is on the person being accepted for who they are. Undoubtedly, as Ribeiro (1999) points out, the state of exclusion is as old as humanity and refers to processes of segregation justified by various motivations. Social exclusion dates back to ancient Greece, when slaves, women, the disabled, and foreigners were excluded from social life, but the phenomenon seemed natural given the thinking of the time. This phenomenon only gained visibility after the French Revolution of 1789, due to the ideals represented by the emblem: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. The French and Russian Revolutions of 1917 also contributed to this visibility, sparking a search for a democratic society fair to the human condition. The Russian Revolution has the same significance for the 20th century as the French Revolution did for the 19th: both were popular movements that advanced ideas that reshaped human history. Exclusion is a controversial topic today and, according to Sawaia (1999), has been used hegemonically in different fields of knowledge. It's conveyed in the media, in political discourse, in government plans and programs. It's an ambiguous concept that guides analyses of social inequality and can sometimes emphasize one characteristic more than another. For example, some analyses focus on the economic aspect, as a synonym for poverty, and others focus on the social aspect, as they prioritize the concept of discrimination without considering the fundamental point of exclusion: social injustice. Dian Throughout the history of exclusion and in defense of human diversity, there has been intense worker and peasant organization demanding political, social, and civil rights. Coelho (2003) points out that approximately 30 years ago, minority groups (among them, Black people, feminists, homosexuals, Vietnam veterans, etc.) began demanding a more just and egalitarian society, in which the same rights and opportunities are guaranteed to all who live in it. Based on this perspective of social transformation, a new concept emerges: inclusion; "the term serves as a globalized banner for minority groups" (p. 91). The emergence of the concept of inclusion leads us to the question: Is the word inclusion a new word for what we used to call Rights? We think that capitalism incorporated the "banner" of the struggle for rights waged between workers and property owners and that, to mitigate the conflict, it found a new word: include. In fact, this struggle is historic, given the context of exclusion that accompanies humanity. The idea of inclusion reveals the existing contradiction: exclusion. Tunes (2003) points out facts that confirm this logic: we only speak of inclusion because we are a society that engages in social practices of exclusion. Only those who are excluded can be included. The possibility of inclusion that results from this is illusory. The inclusion of students identified as disabled in regular schools1 within the education system is a problem that cannot be analyzed separately from another problem: exclusion within distinct historical contexts. The exclusion that has historically always affected "disabled" individuals occurs through work, class, culture, and education, combining various elements of social exclusion. To obtain the data, direct observation of teacher-student interactions was performed, and data from discussions coordinated at a Special Education Center in the Federal District were also used.