Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the
graduate in education in their teaching practice scenarios.
..........................................
Representaciones sociales sobre educación inclusiva desde la perspectiva del licenciado
en educación en sus escenarios de la práctica docente
Ferdy Carina Arguello Muñoz
ABSTRACT
This study analyzes (a) the social
representations that the students of the 10th
semester of the Bachelor's degree program of
an IES of Neiva, Huila have about inclusive
education. For this purpose, fieldwork was
conducted following a qualitative methodology
with an ethnographic approach in which
documentary review, participant observation,
survey and semi-structured interview were
used. The results of the research reveal that for
the group of participants inclusive education is
reduced almost exclusively to the special
attention that should be given to students with
disabilities, which requires additional work in
the classroom and also requires special
training that both the State and the
educational institution should provide.
Keywords: Inclusive Education, Social
Representations, Teachers, Pillars of
Education and Pedagogical Guidelines.
RESUMEN
Este estudio analizo (a) las representaciones
sociales que tienen las estudiantes de X
semestre del programa de Licenciatura de una
Received: November 13, 2022
Approved: December 12, 2022
...........................................
Master's Degree in Education from
Diversity and Bachelor's Degree in Early
Childhood Pedagogy. University
Teacher. ferdycarina@gmail.com,
Colombia. https://orcid.org/0000-
0001-5102-5986.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
2
IES de Neiva, Huila sobre la educación
inclusiva. Para ello se realizó un trabajo de
campo siguiendo una metodología de corte
cualitativo con un enfoque etnográfico en la
que se utilizó la revisión documental,
observación participante, la encuesta y la
entrevista semiestructurada. Los resultados de
la investigación revelan que para el grupo de
participantes la educación inclusiva se reduce
casi que exclusivamente a la atención especial
que se debe prestar a los alumnos con
discapacidad, lo cual demanda trabajo
adicional en el aula y que además requiere de
una capacitación especial que tanto el Estado
como la institución educativa debería
proporcionar.
Palbras claves: Educación Inclusiva,
Representaciones Sociales, Maestros, Pilares
de la Educación y Lineamientos pedagógicos.
Introduction
Taking up again the importance of addressing the right to comprehensive and quality
education offered by the different educational institutions as stated in their mission,
vision and formative principles in order to offer quality education to the different
population sectors towards which their function is focused, it is found that in the
classroom there is talk of inclusion but without making the sufficient depth that the
problem deserves to find a solution without violating again and again the rights and
opportunities for the realization of people who are not part of inclusive education. If
the rights and opportunities for these people are violated again and again, where are
the postulates of the Ministry of National Education (MEN) regarding the pillars of
education?
When speaking of education, it should be clear that this is a fundamental right
enshrined in the Political Constitution of Colombia, contemplated in Article 67 when
it states that education is a right and a public service that has a social function that
seeks access to knowledge, science, technology, and other goods and values of culture;
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
3
or what is stated in Law 115 or the General Education Law or the Ten-Year Education
Plan, which assumes that the purpose of education is training in respect for life and
other human rights, peace, democratic principles of coexistence, pluralism, justice,
solidarity and equity, and also in the exercise of tolerance and freedom. Where are
human rights when educational models do not contemplate diversity?
Specifically in relation to the inclusion of children with disabilities, the Ministry of
Health and Social Protection (2017), establish a series of standards and laws that seek
to provide, protect and ensure access to education for children, girls, young people and
adults who for some reason n are part of the different plans, programs and projects
designed also by the Ministry of National Education MEN, to avoid that all this work
and these regulations are laws remain dead laws or paper laws if we do not change the
chip in the classroom of the importance of educating a new generation of educators
and teachers to educate in inclusion and the non-violation of their rights. From the
classroom, the attention to people with disabilities must be comprehensive and
inclusive, that is why it is determined as the target population the students of the third
semester of the program of Comprehensive Care for Early Childhood of a Technical
Institute in the city of Neiva. In terms of Chaux (2013), only if parents, teachers and
institutions work together it will be possible to address the solution to inclusive
education with people with disabilities. In other words, a collaborative work between
teachers, parents and students with disabilities is established as a mechanism for
agreement and for the common good of the vulnerable population.
Addressing the issue of social representations in inclusive education involves a
thorough exploration of research, studies and publications that provide a better
understanding of it at international, national and local levels. It should be noted that,
although it is true that there is literature that addresses inclusive education with a
broad perspective, beyond disability, there are many works that refer to inclusion as a
way for the school to offer the same opportunities to children with disabilities.
In this work, inclusive education is assumed as one that embraces social diversity,
since school children come from different social classes. In addition to religious,
ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity, since this means that children have different
worldviews, therefore, they think, act and interpret the world differently and have
different interests, expectations and motivations. There is also sexual and gender
diversity, which goes beyond the biological, since there are boys and girls, and
considers gender identity. In addition, there is the diversity that emanates from
physical differences and from learning and developmental abilities and difficulties.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
4
To begin with, we have the work of Garnique (2012) on the social representations of
basic education teachers regarding school inclusion. This research addresses the social
representations of school inclusion constructed by some elementary school teachers
in an elementary school located in the northeast of Mexico City. A qualitative
methodology was used and the information was obtained through participant
observation, a survey, interviews with 17 teachers, as well as documentary review.
Among the results, it stands out that most of the participants consider themselves
inclusive, however, their perception is not in accordance with their pedagogical
practices, since their teaching style does not adapt to the learning style of the students;
for them, inclusion means the attention given in the classroom to indigenous people,
children with different abilities, children with HIV AIDS or with sexual indefinition,
children with some difference such as paraplegics, visually impaired, Down syndrome,
among others.
They consider that caring for these children entails certain administrative difficulties
and therefore requires more time, in addition to the lack of support from parents and
the lack of preparation and training, especially for older teachers. Additionally, they
expressed that, although it is true that the educational institution has adopted
inclusion, the teachers are not prepared.
The work of Apablaza (2014) entitled Representaciones sociales de profesores respecto
de la diversidad escolar en relación a los contextos de desempeño profesional,
prácticas y formación inicial (Social representations of teachers regarding school
diversity in relation to the contexts of professional performance, practices and initial
training) was carried out to analyze how these representations influence teaching
practices in the classroom; To achieve this, grounded theory was adopted, which is
used to develop a theory based on collected data, which are analyzed and categorized,
in order to establish relationships between the different concepts that emanate from
the underlying information in the discourse of the surveyed participants, thus
obtaining a more accurate understanding of the situation under study. Semi-
structured interviews were conducted with three teachers from the Metropolitan Area
of Santiago de Chile, who were asked about the perception of the concept of school
diversity, about the pedagogical practices with which diversity is approached and
about the implications of adopting diversity in the classroom.
Among the results of this research, it is noteworthy that, unlike other studies, the
perception that participants have about educational inclusion contemplates, in
addition to disability, other aspects related to the problems or difficulties that some
children suffer. In any case, this implies that teachers' perception of difference is
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
5
always associated with something negative. Although teachers perceive diversity as a
value inherent to the human condition, which should be appreciated by all, they also
associate it with something that hinders classroom practice. In this sense, difference
is not seen as a factor that enriches the school process, but rather as something that
hinders it.
Also Gutiérrez (2017) in his work entitled Social representations of educational
inclusion: the case of teachers of the Escuela Normal de Especialización (ENE), whose
objective is to know the social representations that teachers of the Escuela Normal de
Especialización have, about inclusion and how these social representations influence
their teaching practices, to achieve this he applies interviews to 32 teachers in Mexico.
The interviewees perceive inclusion as an exercise of social vindication and accept it,
however, they are concerned that children with disabilities, although they have access
to the regular education system and thus can choose which school they want to attend,
the attention they receive, despite being inclusive, is not specialized or individualized,
as it was offered in the specialized centers under the integration model, in which
adaptations were made to the curricula according to their requirements. For teachers,
the integration model with specialized centers allowed better attention to children
with disabilities than the inclusion model.
With the inclusion model, the population with disabilities is included in the regular
classroom but their needs are not adequately addressed, and the special education
teacher now spends his or her time filling out reports related to the population
considered at risk, such as migrants, indigenous people or children in wheelchairs, and
no time is devoted to attending to children with real special needs. For them, the mere
fact that they are migrants or indigenous children does not mean that they have any
problems and they can access the curricular content of the programs corresponding to
their grade level.
Most of the teachers trained at the Escuela Normal de Especialización reject inclusion
in their discourse, because they consider that they have been prepared to attend to
disability with a clinical care model in which they could practice as therapists. Thus,
some teachers accept the inclusion model only in their discourse in order to be
considered good teachers, but do not accept it in practice because they long for the
integration model in which they could provide, according to them, the necessary
support to disabled children, who have become just another statistic within the
inclusion policy.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
6
On the other hand, Rivas (2019) in her work Understanding the social representations
of inclusive education in professionals of kindergarten education establishments,
whose objective was to identify the meanings that are at the basis of the discourse
regarding inclusive education of the actors of the educational communities of
kindergarten education establishments of the Araucanía region, in Chile, through the
Grounded Theory methodology, which allows the understanding in a solid and
sensitive way of the expressions of the participants about the context under study. It
was found that the participants in the research, according to their statements, consider
that inclusion only refers to the cases of the child with some type of disability, but at
the same time they little highlight the diversity of teaching from the pedagogical
practices. In addition, they express fear of diversity, especially for not knowing how to
work adequately with children with disabilities who are received at school, a fear that
is reinforced by the families' perception of the inadequacy of having their children in
institutions where there is no specialized personnel. This situation leads to a
superficial approach to inclusion, to the fact that inclusion is only talked about and not
really experienced, and is only reduced to a superficial compliance with the rules that
exist in this regard.
Vélez (2016) on the other hand, in his work entitled Inclusive education for people
with disabilities in the province of Buenos Aires: un estudio de caso a partir de las
representaciones sociales de los actores educativos de la escuela Santa Julia en Tigre,
2015, considers that the fundamental problem is constituted by the fact of recognizing
that inclusive education for people with disabilities is a relevant topic of study in the
framework of public policies, if you will, related to the possible infringement of the
rights inherent to every human being, therefore raises as a general objective to
understand and interpret the social representations that in front of inclusive education
for people with disabilities have the educational actors of the primary level of the Santa
Julia School.
The research is approached from a qualitative methodology, which responded to the
application of semi-structured interviews and observation as a spectator, taking as a
reference the three central components in the theory of social representation:
information and selective construction; attitude and naturalization and the field of
representation and the figurative scheme. The conclusions are that it is necessary to
create a strategy in which, in addition to advocating for the transformation of the
structure and organization of regular schools and their actors, mechanisms of socio-
cultural awareness are generated that can advance in the abolition of the attitudinal
barriers interposed in society, which, as we have said repeatedly, are the ones that
create, recreate and deepen disability.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
7
This research allows to understand that although the states design plans, programs
and projects aimed at assisting people with disabilities in relation to their access to
education, this is not enough, as it is required that these plans drawn to be executed,
must be structured a series of strategies that bring them closer to each context, It has
always been recognized that each population group, even if they have the same
problem, requires different and almost particular and individualized solutions,
because each of them have special conditions that deserve to be solved, hence the
importance of generating these strategies that seek a solution and not to increase the
problem.
The management of disability in education always requires special attention, hence
teachers are the first ones to be trained in this aspect, therefore the research of Muñoz
(2014), who presents the results of her research for the Latin American Journal of
Inclusive Education of Spain, which seeks to describe the representations and
attitudes of teachers regarding the integration of children with special educational
needs to the regular classroom, is retaken. The starting point is the need to make
changes in teachers' attitudes and educational practices in order to move towards
inclusive education. A qualitative methodology is used, which is characterized by a
detailed description of the facts and events that occur in a given social scenario.
In terms of results, apart from training teachers to attend to children with disabilities,
it is also necessary to consider the fact of educating children with disabilities in
different spaces in order for them to learn better. From this perspective, it is concluded
that there is still a tendency to consider the clinical rehabilitation model as the most
adequate to respond to the characteristics of this type of children, as well as the
existence of segregationist attitudes. Other elements considered important for
adequate school integration are training, the existence of didactic material appropriate
to the characteristics of the children, the participation of the family, the attitude of the
children in the class and of the classroom teachers, and the implementation of
curricular adaptations.
These aspects do not coincide in their majority in the observed pedagogical activities.
Now in reference to the interpretation and contributions of this research, one of the
main obstacles to achieve an adequate inclusion process, which, according to the
teachers' opinion, would correspond to the excessive number of students in each class
and having more than one child integrated in the classroom, however, the teaching
experience allows us to affirm that the biggest problem is the fact of not having
teachers to deal with this problem.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
8
Another research that arouses interest for its contributions to the teaching work is that
of Rojas (2017), whose purpose is the reconstruction of the social representations held
by primary education teachers regarding the educational inclusion of schoolchildren
with disabilities, based on their experiences and stories, which leads them to recognize
that there are many shortcomings in this regard in their work in the classroom. For
the researcher, the study was located within the qualitative paradigm, since it allowed
the interpretation of the existing relationships and actions between the subjects and
their social life, focusing on the study of the meanings of human actions and social life.
At the level of the most significant results, it is necessary to build new foundations in
academic contexts to accommodate the difference from the terms of true values of
respect and equity. A condition of disability present in a schoolchild currently alludes
to a distance between the infant and the school premises, due to the fact that he/she is
located in a position of alienation and academic foreignness. This situation arises as a
consequence of the teacher's vision of disability, impregnated with a traditional belief
of incompleteness, i.e., the image of the child is linked to deficit, weakness or
inferiority.
Each and every one of these investigations reflects the difficulties faced by teachers in
their daily work, and they must recognize that they do not have all the tools or expertise
to be able to serve their students properly, with a quality and comprehensive
education, demonstrating that the educational system has great shortcomings, but
especially in relation to the care of the population with disabilities, which instead of
providing solutions, aggravates the problem and creates greater mental limitations to
the student and his family, hence the importance of recognizing the problem, but in
particular to seek solutions, because you can not simply recognize that there is a
difficulty, but it is looking for a real solution. The teacher must have a better
preparation and assistance to be able to provide quality education.
In this sense, and from the perspective of social representations as a central concept
for the construction of knowledge, authors such as Weisz (2017), in his research La
representación social como categoría teórica y estrategia metodológica (Social
representation as a theoretical category and methodological strategy). This author
develops a thematic review of social representations as a theoretical category,
reconstructs the history of its emergence and raises the theoretical references on which
it is based; then develops the aspects related to the methodology, and finally addresses
the challenges related to the analysis, from a qualitative methodological approach to
research in Social Sciences.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
9
Finally, it should be noted that this study of social representations as a theoretical
category and methodological strategy, as it is currently conceived, allows the passage
from a finalist and abstract vision to the understanding of everyday life and common
sense; by condensing in an analytical, synthetic and denotative way, SR allows access
to the categories of understanding of the actors, makes it possible to write and
understand the meanings that the subjects give to the action, as interpreters and
constructors, who relationally articulate the socialization process acquired, with the
present situation and with the expectations for the future.
It is also emphasized that social representations allow access to the categories of
understanding of the actors, make it possible to write and understand the meanings
that the subjects give to the action, as interpreters and constructors, who relationally
articulate the acquired socialization process, The validity and relevance of this
category leads to the articulation of the different theoretical traditions that gave rise
to it, to the approach of the techniques related to the construction of data and to the
development of the modes adopted by interpretation and analysis, respectively,
towards the production of contextualized knowledge.
This study has two objectives: (1) To identify students' social representations of
inclusive education; (2) To analyze the implications of social representations on
students' classroom pedagogical practice.
Based on the available evidence, the following hypothesis is formulated:
Social representations are understood as the representation and explanation of their
reality, their world, their daily relationships. For authors such as Moscovicci (1977),
"social representation is a particular modality of knowledge, whose function is the
elaboration of behaviors and collective communication" Moscovicci (1977, p. 77), i.e.,
they are the ways and forms of interacting and feeling in society, being part of a group
and seeking its realization. Therefore, it is important to know what are the social
representations in inclusive education of these students, because the education offered
to the population with disabilities may depend to some extent on their management,
understanding that other factors must also be taken into account. What are the social
representations of students about inclusive education. According to UNESCO (2017),
the fundamental principle of inclusive education, should be understood as the way
through which approaches and social commitments to rights are materialized, and as
a means to further accelerate the achievement of the objectives of education for all,
and in group of all, there is the population in disabilities. Only in this way can we
speak of quality education, because it offers the resources, strategies and means for all
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
10
students to reach the highest levels of development in their learning according to their
abilities.
Materials and methods
Field work was conducted in a Technical Institute in Neiva, Colombia; participant
observation, survey and interview were used, techniques very typical of the qualitative
approach, which were applied to 15 third semester students of the comprehensive early
childhood care program. The information collected with these techniques was used to
answer the question: What are the social representations of the students about
inclusive education, and also what implications do these social representations have
on the pedagogical practice in the classroom?
In order to obtain information on the social representations of inclusive education, a
semi-structured interview was used first of all, whose answers allowed the
identification of the discourse that the students have constructed on the subject. The
research adopted a qualitative ethnographic cohort design, which allows obtaining
data from the systematic observation of the daily life of those who are to be studied.
This is done mainly through participant observation, which always involves the
recording of observations, in this case using an observation guide.
Ethnography as a methodological instance in this particular case takes the form of
school ethnography (Álvarez, 2011) which focuses on the study of the culture that
develops in schools. For Velasco & Díaz de Rada (2011) school ethnography is nothing
more than the application of ethnographic methodology to the study of the school.
Each one of the students in the 10th semester of the Bachelor's Degree in Education
program of an IES in the city of Neiva, who are between the ages of 18 and 36 years
old.
In accordance with the objectives, both general and specific, two phases are proposed
for the development of the actions: Recognition Phase and Analysis Phase, based on
open coding and data triangulation, we will analyze the data coming from, regarding
this, Strauss and Corbin (2002) justifies that "to discover and develop the concepts we
must open the text and expose the thoughts, ideas and meanings contained in it"
(Strauss and Corbin, 2002, p. 111).
Recognition Phase. This phase is linked to the specific objectives: (1) To identify the
students' social representations on inclusive education; (2) To analyze the implications
of social representations in the students' classroom pedagogical practice.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
11
Actions. These refer to the design and application of the data collection instruments.
The first instrument is the questionnaire applied to the 15 students, in relation to the
reading of social representations in their educational and social environment
(Results). The second instrument is a semi-structured interview applied to the 15
students, designed to identify the discourse of social representations on inclusive
education of comprehensive early childhood care (Results). Both the first and second
instruments are linked to the first specific objective. Finally, the participant
observation of the students during their classroom practices, in order to identify if
there is correspondence between their educational discourse and their practices
(Results). The latter is linked to the second specific objective.
Analysis Phase. In this phase, the data obtained through each of the instruments used
are identified and analyzed in relation to the dimensions and objectives established.
Actions. The study of the results obtained, the reflection on them and the conclusions
of the research are carried out.
Results
Table 1. Results of the Likert-type scale whose response options range from 1 to 4
(where 1=strongly agree, 2=agree; 3=disagree and 4=strongly disagree).
Participants ___15__
AGREED
Conditioning elements of the inclusive education process in the
classroom
1
2
3
4
1
It is the school's duty to attend to all students.
15
0
0
0
2
Inclusive education is the responsibility of everyone in the institution.
15
0
0
0
3
A quality inclusive education process requires motivation and professional interest of
the teacher
15
0
0
0
4
Inclusive education should play an important role in my future teaching practice.
13
2
0
0
5
As a teacher, my concern is that students achieve inclusion in the classroom.
14
1
0
0
6
Inclusive quality education requires initial training on attention to diversity.
15
0
0
0
7
Inclusive quality education requires sufficient and appropriate resources.
15
0
0
0
8
Inclusive education can be carried out in each and every area of the curriculum.
10
3
2
0
09
Inclusive quality education requires an adequate teacher-student ratio.
15
0
0
0
10
Inclusive education should be given greater importance in the career I am pursuing.
13
2
0
0
11
The most effective for inclusive education is to combine the schooling of students with
N.E.A.E. between the regular classroom and the support classroom.
3
2
3
7
Inclusive education training for teachers in their careers
1
2
3
4
12
This career has served to increase my interest in further training in the field of
inclusive education.
10
3
2
0
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
12
13
This career has helped me to become more aware of the importance of inclusive
education.
10
3
2
0
14
After completing the third semester, I have an adequate knowledge of inclusive
education.
11
4
0
0
15
After completing the third semester, I have an adequate knowledge of legislation
related to the field of inclusive education.
11
4
0
0
Formative teaching practice in the attention to diversity.
1
2
3
4
16
Inclusive quality education requires previous experience with students with special
educational needs.
15
0
0
0
17
I consider myself sufficiently qualified to face the challenge of inclusive education.
9
6
0
0
18
The education system offers the appropriate services and resources for inclusive
education.
0
0
3
12
Teachers' perceptions of students with specific educational support
needs
1
2
3
4
19
Inclusive education requires numerous modifications to the curriculum.
13
2
0
0
20
Inclusive education is an added job for the tutor teacher in the classroom.
15
0
0
0
21
Inclusive education is utopian
12
3
0
0
22
Inclusive education would be best done in specialized centers.
15
0
0
0
Adopted from (Colmenero & Pantoja, 2015).
Table 2. Axes of analysis: Field of information
• Through what means did you learn about inclusive education (everyday
conversations, mass media)?
Code
Category
Frequency
1
In high school, in classes
15
• Have you had the opportunity to consult materials regarding inclusive
education?
Category
Frequency
Yes
15
• Can you mention the aspects of inclusive education that are relevant to you?
Code
Category
Frequency
That all children now have access to education.
7
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
13
It is a law or state policy to guarantee the right to education
for all children.
4
That it is now necessary to learn or specialize in inclusive
education.
3
Means equality and non-discrimination
2
Table 3. Axes of analysis: Field of representation
• What image comes to mind when you hear the mention of inclusive education?
Code
Category
Frequency
Equality, equity and non-discrimination
3
Equal treatment for all children
3
Institutions receiving and accepting all children
3
Institutions equipped and prepared for IE
3
Coexistence of children from different walks of life
3
• What does inclusive education mean to you?
Code
Category
Frequency
Opportunity and access to education
6
Possibility or field of professional development for teachers
4
Law that Educational Institutions must comply with
2
Right that the State must guarantee
2
Type of inclusive education
1
• What does inclusive education mean to you?
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
14
Code
Category
Frequency
Possibility of access to the right to education and to receive
quality care for children with special needs.
7
Challenge and professional development/learning
opportunities for teachers
4
Law, policy or requirements to be met
3
How to build a just society
1
Table 4. Axes of analysis: Attitude Field
• What is your assessment of inclusive education?
Code
Category
Frequency
Very positive because the State obliges institutions to receive
and offer education to all children regardless of their
condition.
7
Very positive because it represents access to education for
children regardless of their condition.
6
Very positive because children can now be educated by
specialized institutions and teachers.
6
Very positive for society
2
An opportunity for early childhood education students
1
• What are the positive and negative aspects of inclusive education?
Positive aspects
Code
Category
Frequency
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
15
Equal opportunity in access to education for all children
7
Obligation for institutions to receive all children regardless of
their condition
4
Promotes equality in society
2
Teaches children to accept differences
2
Negative aspects
Code
Category
Frequency
Educational institutions are not prepared due to lack of
resources, infrastructure and teachers.
8
More work for teachers
5
Implies that children without special needs are delayed
2
It is mandatory and must be complied with
1
• Can you indicate the reasons that lead you to make such an assessment?
Code
Category
Frequency
Educational institutions do not have teachers trained to serve
children with special needs.
7
Educational institutions do not have the necessary resources
to attend children with special needs.
3
It involves more work for teachers because they have to fill
out forms and spend more time with children with special
needs.
3
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
16
The law forces educational institutions to receive children
with special needs without being prepared for them
1
Not enough attention is devoted to children who do not have
special needs
1
• What actions will you take in the face of inclusive education?
Code
Category
Frequency
Learning more about inclusive education
12
Specialize in inclusive education
2
Open my own school specializing in inclusive education
1
According to the information obtained in the semi-structured interview with the 15
participants in this study, all of them reside in the city of Neiva, all of them are in the
tenth grade of the Bachelor's Degree in Education, none of them has any other type of
training. For all of them, the reason that led them to decide on the career they are
currently studying is their liking for working with early childhood and second
childhood communities and for education in general. In the coming years, all of them
envision themselves with a life plan related to early childhood education: 4 see
themselves working as teachers, 4 working and studying psychology, 2 setting up their
own cognitive stimulation center, 2 as trainers of trainers, 3 as owners of their own
school.
On the other hand, the results are presented according to the objectives set out and
the purpose is to expose the achievement or non-achievement of these objectives
during the research. Thus, in relation to the first specific objective of identifying the
social representations of the students on inclusive education, the participants in their
discourse express positive appreciations of this process and associate it with the right
to education that the state should guarantee, the equality that should characterize
society and the opportunities that the educational system should offer. In general, the
concept of inclusive education is associated with the actions that both the school and
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
17
the state should undertake to adequately meet the needs of children with disabilities,
given that it is assumed that they have special needs. For the latter, the participants
express that it is necessary to make adjustments to educational policies in order to
adapt the curricula, the infrastructure of educational centers, and the education and
training of both administrative and teaching staff. Due to the generalized approach to
inclusive education given by the participants to children with disabilities, it is even
perceived that for some of them these children would be better served in specialized
centers. There is no clarity about inclusion in a broad sense that contemplates children
who do not present any disability but would also benefit from inclusive education, such
as children belonging to ethnic minorities, those who belong to families displaced by
violence, those who come from families in complex socioeconomic conditions or
dysfunctional homes, among others.
In the discourse of the participants, there is a tendency to conceive inclusive education
as a simple set of techniques or measures that the school should adopt, and not as an
educational approach. In other words, it is perceived that the participants see inclusive
education as a way of linking children who present some characteristic that makes
them vulnerable to the educational mainstream, and not as a way of transforming the
educational system so that it can effectively address the diversity of children, who are
a reflection of the diversity of society.
According to the above, trying to put inclusion into practice in the classroom
represents an extra workload for teachers, since, in addition to lacking the necessary
skills to serve this type of population, they must comply with a series of bureaucratic
requirements for statistical purposes; in this sense, they consider that the educational
institution receives these children to comply with the norm and to show statistics on
inclusion, without necessarily having the resources or the appropriate personnel to
provide quality education to these children.
The social representations of inclusive education in the case of the participants revolve
mainly around the requirements that both the institution and the teachers must meet.
In this sense, allusion is made to the changes that the institution must implement at
the demand of the State and to the competencies that teachers must have, as if it were
other people who were called upon to acquire these competencies, and not the
participants themselves. The idea of inclusive education is expressed as if it were a task
that corresponds to teachers specialized in serving this population, who, according to
them, have needs that merit an approach from an almost clinical or specialized point
of view.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
18
From the above it can be inferred that there is a certain contradiction between, on the
one hand, the discourse surrounding inclusive education, a discourse that is loaded
with good intentions that reflect the participants' desire for society to somehow
guarantee equal opportunities for all children, opinions possibly influenced by the
feelings of kindness and compassion that the vulnerability of this population awakens
in them; and on the other hand, a somewhat negative approach to the demands that
would require them to put into practice the actions of inclusive education in the
classroom.
On the one hand, the participants express that an inclusive classroom offers
advantages in that it helps today's children to adapt and develop in diverse contexts,
and the citizens of the future to prepare themselves to build a more tolerant society;
but at the same time it presents the disadvantage that classroom dynamics can be
altered due to the disparity in learning rhythms and to adjustments in the curriculum
and pedagogical strategies. For the latter, the whole school needs to be prepared for
diversity in order to adopt a truly inclusive education. It is therefore necessary that,
for a quality inclusive education, more than complying with State requirements, the
institution must provide the resources to support this task, including modifying its
structure, since it may be necessary to improve the teacher-student ratio. In relation
to the second objective, to analyze the implications of social representations in the
students' classroom pedagogical practice, it was found, through the observation of the
students in their classroom practice hours, that their teaching style is traditional and
their pedagogical strategy is conceived under the assumption that all students are
equal and have the same capabilities, styles and learning rhythms.
Conclusions
For most of the participants, inclusive education is perceived as a form of social
vindication through which the State must guarantee equality for all, seen as simple
access to the educational system, but once these children have been accepted in school,
they do not really receive adequate attention due to lack of preparation by the
institution and teachers. In this case, inclusion tends to be confused with access.
According to the above, for the participants it is laudable that there is a law on
inclusion, but at the same time to some extent this inclusion policy makes the work of
teachers more difficult because they have to devote more time to attend to children
with special needs, which could delay the normal development of classroom activities.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
19
The participants in their discourse do not show much clarity about inclusion in cases
in which the school receives children, for example, from ethnic minorities, from
families displaced by violence, from families in complex socioeconomic conditions or
from dysfunctional homes, among others. The greatest concern reflected in their
discourse is about the care that children with physical or cognitive disabilities must
receive from teachers who have not been trained for this purpose, in an institution that
does not have the necessary infrastructure or support resources. In their classroom
practice, it is not evident that the participants are aware of diversity, considering that
as a reflection of the society that makes up the environment of the scenario under
study, it is highly probable that in the classroom there are children with diverse
characteristics and abilities, and that therefore they would need special attention. In
reality, all children are treated equally since none of them show any obvious physical
or cognitive problems and it is assumed that they are learning the content being taught
without any difficulty. Thus, the teacher's teaching style is unique and does not take
into account the possible diversity in the children's learning styles.
All the participants agree that in order to achieve inclusion, teachers must be trained
or, failing that, specialized personnel must be hired to provide this type of attention.
The social representation that the participants have about inclusive education would
theoretically guide their pedagogical practices given that all of them show a receptive
attitude towards diversity, but at the same time they express that such inclusion would
generate segregation because it would be necessary to give a differential treatment to
children with special needs, and sometimes it would be necessary to offer them special
spaces for them, separated from the other children, in order to facilitate the use of
spaces and support materials specially designed for them. And, above all, ideally with
specialized staff. The attitude of the participants towards inclusive education is
generally positive, and they consider that besides being desirable, it should be
mandatory, as long as it is someone else who takes ownership of it, that is, other
teachers specialized in the subject, or they themselves, as long as they are properly
trained and have all the necessary support.
References
Álvarez, C. (2011). The interest of school
ethnography in educational research.
Estudios pedagógicos, 37(2), 267-279.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
20
Angulo, N. (2016). Social representations of teachers
regarding the educational inclusion of
children with disabilities and its influence on
pedagogical practices. Thesis to opt as a
partial requirement for the degree of Master
in Education. Bogotá, Colombia. Retrieved
September 10, 2019, from
http://www.bdigital.unal.edu.co/52301/1/te
sis%20nayibe%20sustenta.pdf
Apablaza, M. (2014). Social representations of
teachers regarding school diversity in relation
to the contexts of professional performance,
practices and initial training. Estudios
Pedagógicos, 40(1), 7-24.
Bauman, Z. (2011). Liquid modern challenges to
education . Padova : Padova University Press.
Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1991). Meanings
constructed by children, parents and teachers
linked to several schools in the city of Bogota
about childhood, family and school in the
context of globalization. Diversitas-
perspectiva en psicología(5), 283-306.
Bourdieu, P. (1995). Reproduction. Elementos para
una teoría del sistema de enseñanza. Mexico
D.F.: Laia S.A.
Carnioy, M. (2004). ICT in education: possibilities
and challenges. Retrieved August 20, 2019,
from Inaugural lecture of the 2004 academic
year:
http://www.uoc.edu/inaugural04/dt/esp/ca
rnoy1004.pdf
Colmenero, M., & Pantoja, A. (2015). Perceptions on
attention to diversity in the initial training of
Secondary Education teachers. Revista
complutense de Educación, 26(1), 101-120.
Coronado, J., & Montoya, M. (2016). Social
representations of school in elementary
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
21
school children. Master's thesis. Manizales,
Caldas, Colombia.
Cuevas, J. (2016). Recommendations for the study of
social representations in educational
research. Culture and social representations,
11(21).
Cuevas, J. (2016). Recommendations for the study of
social representations in educational
research. Culture and social representations,
11(21).
The meaning of school. Analysis of the social
representations of school for a group (2010).
Revista Mexicana de Investigación
Educativa, 15(45), 945-967.
Garnique, F. (2012). Social representations. Basic
education teachers facing school inclusion.
Perfiles Educativos, 34(137), 99-118.
Gutiérrez, G. (2017). Social representations of
educational inclusion: the case of teachers of
the Normal School of Specialization (ENE).
XXXI Congress Alas Uruguay 2017.
Montevideo , Uruguyay .
Hamburg, D. (1994). Education for conflict
resolution. Excerpt from the annual report.
New York.
Jodelet, D. (2011). Contributions of the social
representations approach to the field of
education. Blank Spaces. Journal of
Education, 21, 133-154.
Kawulich, B. (2006). Participant observation as a
method of data collection. Retrieved
September 05, 2019, from Forum Qualitative
Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social
Research: http://nbn-
resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0502430.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
22
Law 1346 (July 31, 2009). Official Gazette, 54.
Bogotá.
Law 1840 (August 02, 2016). Official Gazette of
Colombia . Bogotá , Colombia .
López, A. (2016). Social representations in the
construction of sociocultural identity of
students of cycle IV of the United Nations
College I.E.D. from blended learning in art
education. Doctoral thesis. Bogotá, Colombia.
López, P. (January 2016). Lineamiento para la
Atención Integral a la Primera Infancia en
perspectiva de respeto y reconocimiento de la
diversidad. Bogotá.
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (1989). Designing
Qualitative Research. Newbury Park,: Sage
Publications.
MEN (2019). Educación Inclusiva. Retrieved August
01, 2019, from mineducacion.gov.vo:
https://www.mineducacion.gov.co/1759/w3-
article-374740.html?_noredirect=1
MEN (n.d.). Acuerdo Nacional para Disminuir la
Deserción en Educación Superior. Retrieved
August 01, 2019, from
MINEDUCACION.gov.co:
http://mineducacion.gov.co/1621/article-
255732.html
Moscovici, S. (1979). Psychoanalysis, its image and
its public. Buenos Aires: Huemul.
Muñoz, X. (2014). Muñoz, X.D. (2014). Teachers'
representations and attitudes towards the
integration of children with special
educational needs to the regular classroom.
Latin American Journal of Inclusive
Education, 25-35.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
23
Ordoñez, G. (2011). Social representations about
school presented by a group of boarding
school girls from an educational institution in
the central zone of the department of Huila.
Master's thesis. Manizales, Caldas, Colombia.
Orozco, J., Olaya, A., & Villate, V. (2009). Quality
Education Or Quality Education? A Concern
Beyond the Market. Revisrta
Iberoamericana de Educación(51), 161-181.
Rivas, M. (2019). Understanding the social
representations of inclusive education in
professionals of kindergarten education
establishments. National and International
Journal of Inclusive Education, 12(1), 247-
266.
Rodríguez, N., Ballesteros, M., & Ortiz, J. (2011).
Social representations of disability in Neiva
(U. Surcolombiana, Ed.) Entornos(24), 259-
276.
Rojas, M. (2017). Social representations of Primary
Education teachers on the inclusion of
schoolchildren with disabilities. Educ@ción
en Contexto, 3, 50-86.
Santana, L. (June 2017). Social representations of
formative experiences in students of Faculties
of Education. Case: Universidad Distrital
Francisco José de Caldas. Doctoral Thesis.
Bogotá, Colombia. Retrieved September 11,
2019, from
https://repository.usta.edu.co/bitstream/ha
ndle/11634/4079/Santanaluisa2017.pdf?seq
uence=1&isAllowed=y
Schwartz, L. (1993). L'enseignement scientifique", in
Institut de France, Reflexions sur
L'enseignement, . Paris: Flammarion.
Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. (2002). Foundations of
qualitative research. Techniques and procedures to
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
24
develop Grounded Theory. Medellín: Universidad de
Antioquia.
UNESCO (1994). Learning: The Treasure Within.
UNESCO. Paris: Santillana UNESCO
Publishing.
UNESCO (2004). Support Materials for Education
Policymakers. (R. B. Guijarro, Ed.) Santiago
de Chile.
UNESCO (2005). Guidelines for inclusion: Ensuring
Access to education for all. Paris: Unesco.
UNESCO (2017). Quality education for all: a human
rights issue. Discussion paper on education
policies in the framework of the II
Intergovernmental Meeting of the Regional
Education Project for Latin America and the
Caribbean (EFA/PRELAC). Retrieved August
01, 2019, from UNESCO Regional Bureau for
Education in Latin America and the
Caribbean:
Velasco, H., & Díaz de Rada, A. (2011). The logic of
ethnographic research. A working model for
school ethnographers. Madrid: Trotta
Ediciones .
Vélez, V. (2016). Vélez Pachón, Valentina (2016).
Inclusive education for people with
disabilities in the province of Buenos Aires :
a case study from the social representations
of the educational actors of the Santa Julia
School in Tigre, 2015. Retrieved September
10, 2019, from FLACSO Digital Repository:
http://hdl.handle.net/10469/9563
Weisz, C. (2017). Social representation as a
theoretical category and methodological
strategy. CES Journal Psychology, 1(1), 99-
108.
Social representations on inclusive education from the perspective of the bachelor of education in their teaching practice
scenarios
Vol 3 - No 1 January - June e-ISSN 2745-1194 Pages 1- 24
25