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document 1 of 23
Meet Miss Kimberly Voltaire: ABC Preschool Coordinator, Special

Education Teacher, and Inclusive Education Advocate
Meet miss kimberly voltaire: ABC preschool coordinator, special education teacher, and inclusive education
advocate. (2019).
Abstract
None available.
Full Text
At the beginning of the school year, Oak Brook residents and parents with children enrolled in ABC Preschool and
Butler School District 53 have noticed a new face in Oak Brook's education system. This school year, the park
district and District 53 welcomed Miss Kimberly Voltaire as the ABC Preschool Coordinator and Early Childhood
Special Education Teacher.
Drawn towards learning from an early age, Kimberly developed a passion for exploring how each individual
learns differently, especially children. She graduated from Lewis University in 2017 where she earned
undergraduate degrees in Sociology and Early Childhood Special Education with an ESL Endorsement and
minored in business administration.
Kimberly says her first niece, who has autism, is a constant motivation discover new ways to help children with
special needs explore their strengths and learn alongside their peers. "I want to work to help all children learn
by discovering ways to celebrate and align their uniqueness."
She firmly believes that involving families early-on in their children's educational journey is key to achieving this
goal because it works to remove labels so all children have the opportunity to learn to best of their abilities. "It's
important to let parents know what their children have accomplished, and to identify and celebrate every
milestone," she says.
A 3-sport athlete in high school, Kimberly embraces a multi-faceted and holistic approach to learning. She ran
track all four years for Lewis University, and says in a sense it was a savior for her. "I've always been passionate
about track, but when my dad passed away during my second semester, I continued going, and I continued
running for him." Kimberly firmly believes regular activity and play are essential to the physical, social, and
emotional health and development of all children.
Her athletic experience and natural curiosity have also instilled a team-oriented, collaborative philosophy with
her colleagues. She takes time to get to know people and asks questions to better understand what motivates
others. "You never really know someone's whole story, so just by starting a conversation, you may be able to
change the way their day is going."

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About Kimberly Voltaire, Oak Brook Park District ABC Preschool Coordinator and Butler 53 Early Childhood
Special Education Teacher:
Education: Wheeling High School, Lewis University
Favorite Subject in School: English
Athletics: Volleyball, basketball and track
Extra Curricular Activities: Kimberly belonged to a slam poetry group and even participated in a competition in
the city.
Greatest Accomplishment: Becoming a licensed educator Favorite thing about being a teacher: "Hearing
students say 'Miss Voltaire' warms my heart!"
About Oak Brook Park District ABC Preschool:
Through a partnership with Butler School District 53 and the LaGrange Area Department of Special Education
(LADSE), Oak Brook Park District is proud to provide a fully inclusive preschool program. ABC Preschool staff
includes certified early childhood education teachers, special education teachers, classroom aides, and
speech/language, therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists. Our qualified staff and the parents
of our students work together as a team to ensure that children receive the very best educational experience
possible.
By working closely with the award-winning Butler School District 53, children explore pre-academic skills using a
variety of exciting multi-sensory strategies that are reinforced through play. The curriculum focuses on social,
emotional, and intellectual development through creative art, activities, and songs in bright and inviting
classrooms. We offer full day and half day programs with flexible 2-day, 3-day, and 5-day registration options for
residents and nonresidents.
The goal of ABC Preschool is to encourage all children to learn at their own pace through a variety of exciting
experiences that are crafted to build the foundation for a love of learning, and to prepare children for success in
school. Close communication with Kindergarten teachers from Butler School district 53 allows ABC Preschool
teachers to focus on important Kindergarten readiness skills. With a staff to child ratio of 1:6 for the 3-year old
Acorns program and 1:7 for the 4-year old Saplings program, students will receive the attention they need to
develop a strong foundation for a successful educational career. ABC Preschool offers choices to children
whenever possible to encourage positive decision-making and our creative curriculum incorporates essential
indoor and outdoor play.
For more information, visit www.obparks.org.
This item was posted by a community contributor.
Credit: Community Contributor Jessica Cannaday-Oak Brook Park District
Copyright Tribune Interactive, LLC Jan 15, 2019

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Subject Special education;

Preschool education;
Students;
Special education teachers;
Therapists;
Curricula;
Learning
Company / organization Name: Lewis University

NAICS: 611310
Title Meet Miss Kimberly Voltaire: ABC Preschool Coordinator,

Special Education Teacher, and Inclusive Education Advocate
Publication title Chicago Tribune (Online); Chicago
Publication year 2019
Publication date Jan 15, 2019
Section Suburbs - Oak Brook - Community
Publisher Tribune Interactive, LLC
Place of publication Chicago
Country of publication United States, Chicago
Publication subject General Interest Periodicals--United States
Source type Blogs, Podcasts, & Websites
Language of publication English
Document type News

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ProQuest document ID 2167863781
Document URL https://search.proquest.com/docview/2167863781?

accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright Tribune Interactive, LLC Jan 15, 2019
Last updated 2019-01-17
Database ProQuest Central

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document 2 of 23
Inclusive Education for Secondary Age Students With Severe

Disabilities and Complex Health Care Needs
Alternate title: Éducation inclusive pour les élèves du secondaire ayant des déficits graves et des besoins de
santé complexes; Educación Inclusiva para Estudiantes de Secundaria con Discapacidades Graves y Necesidades
Complejas de Atención Médica
Ballard, S. L., & Dymond, S. K. (2018). Inclusive education for secondary age students with severe disabilities
and complex health care needs. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 56(6), 427-441,494-495,497-498.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-56.6.427
Abstract
This qualitative study examined the beliefs and experiences of special education teachers about inclusive
education for secondary age students with severe disabilities and co-existing complex health care needs.
Participants were 11 middle and high school special education teachers who collectively case managed 18
students. Data were collected via demographic questionnaires and online interviews, and analyzed using an
inductive coding approach. Findings portray the roles of personnel who provide student supports, the types of
supports personnel and students require to be successful, benefits experienced by students, and barriers to
including students.
Alternate abstract:
Cette etude qualitative a examine les croyances et les experiences des enseignants en adaptation scolaire
concernant l'education inclusive pour les eleves du secondaire ayant des deficits graves et des besoins de sante
complexes. Les participants etaient 11 enseignants en adaptation scolaire au primaire et au secondaire qui ont
conjointement pris en charge 18 eleves. Les donnees ont ete recueillies via des questionnaires demographiques
et des entrevues en ligne, puis analysees a l'aide d'une methode de codage inductive. Les resultats dressent un
portrait des roles du personnel qui offre du soutien aux eleves, les types de soutien dont le personnel et les
eleves ont besoin pour reussir, les avantages dont beneficient les eleves et les obstacles a leur inclusion.
Alternate abstract:
Este estudio cualitativo examinoí las creencias y experiencias de los maestros de educacioí n especial sobre la
educacion inclusiva para estudiantes de secundaria con discapacidades severas y necesidades complejas de
atencion de salud coexistentes. Los participantes fueron 11 maestros de educacioí n especial de secundaria y
preparatoria que, en conjunto, manejaron a 18 estudiantes. Los datos se recopilaron a traveís de cuestionarios
demograíficos y entrevistas en líínea, y se analizaron mediante un enfoque de codificacioí n inductiva. Los
hallazgos representan los roles del personal que brinda apoyo a los estudiantes, los tipos de apoyo que el
personal y los estudiantes requieren para tener exito, los beneficios experimentados por los estudiantes y las
barreras para incluirlos.
Full Text
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Headnote
Abstract
This qualitative study examined the beliefs and experiences of special education teachers about inclusive
education for secondary age students with severe disabilities and co-existing complex health care needs.
Participants were 11 middle and high school special education teachers who collectively case managed 18
students. Data were collected via demographic questionnaires and online interviews, and analyzed using an
inductive coding approach. Findings portray the roles of personnel who provide student supports, the types of
supports personnel and students require to be successful, benefits experienced by students, and barriers to
including students.
Key Words: severe disabilities; complex health care needs; specialized health care; secondary age students;
inclusive education
Many students with severe disabilities (SD) have severe intellectual disability (ID) and are typically eligible for
special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) categories of autism, ID,
multiple disabilities, and deaf-blindness. A longstanding priority in the field of special education is educating
students with SD in inclusive settings (e.g., general education classrooms, extra-curricular activities, the
community; Agran, Brown, Hughes, Quirk, & Ryndak, 2014; Brown, McDonnell & Snell, 2016). Research
demonstrates that inclusive educational practices promote social membership (Carter & Hughes, 2005),
academic achievement (Kurth & Mastergeorge, 2012), and improved post-school outcomes (Ryndak, Ward,
Alper, Montgomery, & Storch, 2010) for students with SD. Inclusive education is also a philosophy grounded in
civil rights (Agran et al., 2014). A primary goal of inclusive education is to ensure that students with SD have
equitable access to chronologically age-appropriate school experiences, alongside their peers without disabilities,
through the provision of appropriate supports and services to meet individualized learning goals (Doyle &
Giangreco, 2013). Additionally, secondary age students benefit from inclusive education by learning skills that
will enable them to function in the community and workplace, as well as, develop and maintain social
relationships as adults (Ryndak et al., 2010).
Despite a philosophical and research-based foundation for inclusive education, students with SD are less likely
than their counterparts with disabilities to be educated in general education classrooms. According to the U. S.
Department of Education (2016), a large percentage of students identified as having SD spend less than 40% of
their day inside the general education classroom (i.e., students served under the categories of ID, 49.2%;
multiple disabilities, 46.0%; deaf-blindness, 34.4%; and autism, 32.8%). In contrast, only 4.3% of students
with speech or language impairments and 5.8% of students with specific learning disabilities experience a similar
placement. Data for students with SD who have co-existing complex health care needs (CHCN) are not available;
these students may present unique challenges to ensuring their safe care in inclusive settings (Lehr, 2014).
In the past, students with CHCN were referred to as medically fragile or medical technology dependent. The
phrase students with CHCN is now used because it exemplifies person-first language and the intricate nature of
health supports necessary to effectively support this population in their daily lives (Cohen et al., 2011; Lehr &
Greene, 2002). Students with CHCN require medical technology (e.g., mechanical ventilators), skilled health
monitoring (e.g., oxygen monitoring), and low-incidence specialized health care procedures (e.g., tube feedings)
to attend school (Muller, 2005; Virginia Departments of Education and Health, 1995). It is not uncommon for
children or youth with CHCN to also have SD (Elias, Murphy, & Council on Children with Disabilities, 2012).
Although historically students with SD and CHCN have experienced institutionalization and early mortality (Lehr,
2014), several developments have significantly improved public school attendance. These include technological

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advancements in medicine (e.g., portability of medical technologies), health policy (see U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, 2014), and special education law and policy (IDEA, 2004; Department of Education,
State of Hawaii v. Katherine D., 1983). Despite these advances, students with SD and CHCN continue to
experience limited access to inclusive education in public school settings (Ballard & Dymond, 2016).
To our knowledge, only one study has investigated inclusive education for secondary age students with SD and
CHCN. Ballard and Dymond (2016) examined one student's access to inclusive education following a non-
traumatic brain injury that resulted in acquired SD and CHCN. Findings included nominal student access to
inclusive education due to inadequate individualized education program (IEP) team planning; and limited peer
interactions due to the simultaneous presence of a 1:1 nurse and 1:1 paraprofessional.
Prior research on educating students with CHCN has centered on key issues related to their initial entry into
public school settings. The impetuous for this research lies in the relatively recent possibility for students with
CHCN to attend public schools (e.g., advancements in health technology, legal mandates). In general, existing
research describes the roles of school personnel, necessary supports for school personnel and students, and
benefits and barriers to educating students with CHCN in public school settings. Despite the focus of prior
research on initial entry into public school settings, findings from these studies provide a preliminary
understanding of issues relevant to inclusive education for secondary age students with SD and CHCN.
Studies that have examined educating students with CHCN in public schools identify the need for well-defined
provider roles. A multidisciplinary and collaborative IEP team is essential to plan and implement safe educational
programs for students with CHCN (Palfrey et al., 1992; Rehm, 2002). The IEP team should include educational,
health, and community providers; and the student and his or her family. Clear delineation of roles, as well as
team member understanding of and respect for each other's roles, promotes effective service delivery
(Anderson, 2009; Rehm, 2002). An educational coordinator (special education teacher) and a health coordinator
(school nurse) are needed to oversee the day-to-day delivery of education and health services, respectively
(Palfrey et al., 1992). Frequent and open communication across all IEP team members (e.g., reporting a change
in health status) is critical, enabling key school personnel (i.e., special education teachers, school nurses) to
make daily adjustments to students' schedules and care regimens to promote their safety at school (Anderson,
2009; Palfrey et al., 1992; Raymond, 2009).
In order for IEP team members to perform their respective roles, several key supports need to be in place,
foremost of which is an individualized health care plan (IHCP). The IEP team collaborates to develop the IHCP,
which is attached to the student's IEP. The IHCP serves as a central roadmap for school personnel to meet a
student's routine and emergency health care needs (Palfrey et al., 1992; Raymond, 2009). A critical support for
school personnel is training on the IHCP, including (but not limited to) the student's medical diagnosis, medical
equipment, and health supervision needs. Research indicates that initial and ongoing training benefits a broad
range of school personnel (e.g., teachers, nurses and other related services personnel, paraprofessionals, bus
drivers, administrators) by reducing fear and anxiety and by building capacity and willingness to effectively
support this population in public school settings (Anderson, 2009; Esperat, Moss, Roberts, Kerr, & Green, 1999;
Jones, Clatterbuck, Marquis, Turnbull, & Moberly, 1996; Palfrey et al., 1992). Additionally, providing information
on a student's health care conditions to peers without disabilities promotes positive peer interactions (Rehm &
Bradley, 2006; Raymond, 2009).
Only one investigation examined the benefits of educating students with CHCN in public school settings. Rehm
and Rohr (2002) found teachers believed that when students with CHCN are exposed to peers without disabilities
they experience improved educational achievement and a more normalized school experience, and students
without disabilities achieve greater awareness and appreciation of diversity. In contrast, several studies have

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identified barriers to educating students with CHCN in public schools. A common and major barrier is lack of
training on student health care conditions to ensure the safety of students (Esperat et al., 1999; Rehm, 2002). A
shortage of school nurses has been found to further complicate this issue (Anderson, 2009; Esperat et al., 1999;
Rehm, 2002). Nursing shortages have been associated with an increased likelihood of placement in selfcontained
classrooms away from students' neighborhood schools (Rehm & Rohr, 2002), which in turn results in limited
access to peers without disabilities (Diehl, Moffit, & Wade, 1991; Rehm & Bradley, 2006).
Extending the current research on educating students with CHCN in public school settings, specific to roles,
supports, benefits, and barriers, to secondary age students with both SD and CHCN, may provide a greater
understanding of the current educational issues and practices for this population specific to inclusive education.
Special education teachers can provide insight into this problem. They function as day-to-day coordinators of
service delivery in the implementation of inclusive education, and work closely with school nurses to ensure the
implementation of IHCPs across school contexts that include general education classrooms, extracurricular
activities, and the community. Additionally, other school personnel frequently look towards special education
teachers for direction and support when implementing inclusive educational practices (Ward & Ward, 2014).
The significance of addressing secondary age students is two-fold. The primary reason is that students with SD
and CHCN are living longer (Turchi & Mann, 2012) and some middle and high schools may be encountering this
population for the first time (Lehr, 2014). Secondly, inclusive education has been found to improve post-school
outcomes for individuals with SD (Ryndak et al., 2010) and it is reasonable to assume that individuals with SD
and coexisting CHCN will similarly benefit. Given the limited data available on inclusive education for this
population, this study sought to answer the following research question:
What are the perceptions and experiences of middle and high school special education teachers regarding the
roles, supports, benefits, and barriers related to including students with SD and CHCN in school and community
settings?
Method
An in-depth understanding of the personal experiences and perspectives of participants was essential to
answering this investigation's research question; therefore, a qualitative design was selected to achieve this goal
(Patton, 2015).
Participants
Participants were middle and high school special education teachers of students with CHCN in the state of
Illinois. Two methods were used to purposefully recruit participants. First, an email was sent to members of the
Illinois Association of School Nurses (IASN; N = 738) requesting them to forward a recruitment email to middle
and high school special education teachers of students with CHCN. IASN members were selected to assist with
recruitment because school nurses are knowledgeable about students with CHCN and are uniquely qualified to
identify teachers who educate these students. Second, faculty members from the special education teacher
preparation program within the university where the researchers work were asked to nominate teachers that
met study criteria. Faculty members were selected due to their knowledge of positions held by graduates
throughout the state. The researchers sent nominated special education teachers a recruitment email directly.
Twenty special education teachers expressed interest in the study and were screened by telephone to determine
eligibility. Criteria for participation included: (a) holding a valid Illinois special education teaching credential, (b)
teaching at a public middle or high school that also served students without disabilities, and (c) having a

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caseload that included at least one student with SD and CHCN who was not on homebound instruction. SD was
defined as qualifying for special education services under one or more of the following categories: (a) autism,
(b) ID, (c) multiple disabilities, and (d) other health impairment; as well as, eligibility for the Illinois Alternate
Achievement Assessment. CHCN was evaluated using a framework developed by the Virginia Departments of
Education and Health (1995). This framework categorizes three levels of CHCN: (a) conditions requiring
continuous specialized health care procedures, (b) conditions requiring intermittent specialized health care
procedures, and (c) conditions with potential for medical crisis that require specialized services on an episodic
basis. Students who matched any of the three levels of care described in the framework were determined
eligible.
Eleven special education teachers met criteria and agreed to participate in the study (see Table 1). Participants
included two males and nine females with a mean of 13 years teaching experience (range 4-33) and a mean of
six years of experience teaching students with SD and CHCN (range 2 - 16). Nine participants taught high school
(grades 9 - 12) and two taught middle school (grades 6 - 8). They reported a mean caseload size of 9 students
(range 5-15) that included one to three students with SD and CHCN. Seven participants were employed in
suburban schools, three in rural schools, and one in an urban school. School populations ranged from 460 to
4,000.
Participants reported a total of 18 students on their caseload with SD and CHCN (see Table 2). The most
common primary eligibility category for students was multiple disabilities (n = 12), and the most common
secondary eligibility category (when applicable) was other health impairment (n = 8). Participants indicated that
students required a range of specialized health care procedures and one-third relied on medical technology. The
amount of time students were included with peers ranged from 0 to 200 min. Common settings for inclusion
were elective courses (e.g., art, music, drama), and to a lesser extent, the community.
Data Collection
An interview guide was developed based on a review of the literature and consisted of 16 semistructured, open-
ended questions. The first three questions were designed to establish rapport with the participants and better
understand their experiences with educating students with SD and CHCN with their non-disabled peers. To
ensure a shared understanding of the terms "inclusion" and "inclusive education", participants were provided
with the following definition specific to the purpose of this study: "students with disabilities participating in
school or community settings and activities with their non-disabled peers, part-time or fulltime, outside of the
special education classroom." The remaining interview questions focused on roles, supports, benefits, and
barriers to inclusive education for this population (see Table 3). The interview guide was piloted with three
secondary special education teachers who each had over ten years of experience working with students with SD
and CHCN. Minor changes were made to clarify the wording of four questions. An expert in qualitative methods
and special education then examined the interview guide and verified that the questions aligned to the goal of
this investigation.
Interviews were conducted using synchronous internet-based audio/video teleconference shareware (e.g.,
Skype), which eliminated geographic challenges to collecting data while retaining the benefits of face-to-face
interviews (Hanna, 2012). During the interview, teachers were encouraged to answer questions based on
specific student needs, and to share related stories, experiences, feelings, and thoughts. All interviews were
conducted by the first author. Interviews were audio recorded and lasted an average of 60-min. (range 45-to-75
min.).
Data Analysis

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Immediately after each interview, a post-interview review (Patton, 2015) was conducted which consisted of
rereading and editing interview notes, reflecting on potential biases, and recording preliminary interpretations of
the data in a reflective journal. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim resulting in a total of 240 pages of
transcribed data across the 11 interviews. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach (Saldaña, 2013).
Transcripts were coded one-by-one and lineby-line in NVIVO 10. An iterative process involving multiple re-
readings of the data was used to refine, rename, or collapse codes for a total of 152 codes (Miles, Huberman, &
Saldana, 2014). Following the initial coding of all data, codes were sorted into four predetermined categories
(benefits, roles, supports, and barriers) aligned with this investigation's research question. Sixty-two codes did
not fit into these categories (i.e., did not answer the research question); therefore, no further analysis of these
data occurred. The remaining 90 codes were then organized into visual matrices to identify themes across focus
codes in each category (Miles et al., 2014). During the coding process, a master list of code names and
definitions were compiled into a codebook and updated throughout data analysis (Saldaña, 2013).
The researchers worked collaboratively throughout the data analysis process. The first author served as the
primary coder and codebook editor, and developed the initial visual matrices and preliminary themes. The
second author functioned as an examiner and auditor at each stage of data analysis, providing possible
alternative interpretations of the data to facilitate an iterative examination and revision of initial and focused
codes, and themes (Saldaña, 2013). The researchers met face-to-face 3-4 times at each stage of analysis and
engaged in a dialogic process. Discussion focused on critically examining codes and themes to ensure they were
a good fit for the data. Discussion continued until both researchers were in 100% agreement.
Rich data collection, member checking, researcher reflexivity, and researcher collaboration were key steps taken
to establish the trustworthiness of the procedures and findings (Brantlinger, Jimenez, Klingner, Pugach, &
Richardson, 2005; Patton, 2015; Saldaña, 2013). Rich data collection focused on gathering in-depth participant
accounts, including lived experiences that explained or informed the beliefs participants shared (Patton, 2015).
Member checking occurred via email. Each participant was sent (a) a onepage bulleted list of key points from the
interview and preliminary interpretations of the data, and (b) a complete interview transcript. All participants
confirmed accuracy of the materials. The researchers engaged in ongoing reflexive dialogue in person to
critically evaluate potential biases and work to formulate interpretations of the data that represented the
authentic beliefs and accounts of participants. The first author also maintained a journal throughout the duration
of the study to further promote awareness of potentially subjective interpretations of the data. Finally,
researcher collaboration took place in the form of shared decision-making on the study design, data analysis,
and findings.
Findings
Special education teachers' perceptions and experiences with educating students with SD and CHCN in inclusive
school and community settings are described. Findings portray the roles of personnel who provide student
supports, the types of supports personnel and students require to be successful, benefits experienced by
students, and barriers to including students.
Roles
Three themes emerged related to the roles of personnel who support students in inclusive school and community
settings. These were ensuring student safety and building trust, collaborating to balance health care needs, and
advocating for inclusion.
Ensuring student safety and building trust. All participants described personally ensuring students' safety across

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school and community environments as a vital ethical and professional responsibility. This involved providing
copies of IHCPs and emergency protocols to general education teachers as well as ensuring the school nurse had
trained relevant school personnel (e.g., paraprofessionals) on students' CHCN. While participants acknowledged
school nurses as the expert in health matters, they also viewed themselves as key to ensuring school personnel
felt safe around students. They identified providing health information and establishing trust with general
educators as critical to inclusive education for this population. One participant explained, "When you have
students with conditions that can be scary if the general education teachers trust you and understand there is a
plan in place then they are more comfortable having you and the student in their classroom." More than half of
the participants indicated it was important to also help parents feel comfortable with their son or daughter
spending time in general education classrooms or in the community. They felt parents frequently perceive special
education classrooms as safer than inclusive environments and therefore sought to reassure parents of the
safety protocols in place to keep their child safe in inclusive settings.
Collaborating to balance health care needs. The importance of working closely with school nurses and parents to
schedule inclusive education around specialized health care procedures and acute health needs was a topic that
frequently arose. Participants emphasized this endeavor as ongoing and sometimes unpredictable. Specialized
health care procedures were frequently time specific and performed in the special education classroom or the
nurse's office for student safety and privacy reasons, except for a minority of students who received gastrostomy
(i.e., G-tube) feedings in the school cafeteria or community. In addition, participants reported communicating
regularly with parents to garner day-to-day information about students' health status to modify students'
schedules. For example, parent-reported seizure activity might make community-based instruction "too risky," or
the student may be too fatigued to travel to general education classes. Participants described collaborating with
school nurses and parents as essential to day-to-day or moment-to-moment decision-making on when students
could safely access inclusive education.
Advocating for inclusion. A necessary and important role involved advocating for inclusion. One participant
passionately stated, "I am very determined to continue to educate staff and peers that these are just kids that
want to go to school like anyone else and be a part of their school." They described their role as involving a
mixture of relationship building, education, and negotiation that was a never-ending endeavor. As another
participant aptly explained "Inclusive education cannot be forced. We have to be the bridge between general
education teachers and the administration to make inclusion possible."
Supports
Four themes emerged related to supports personnel and students require to be successful in inclusive school and
community settings. These were developing self-efficacy, positive school climate, desired supports, and
alternative approaches.
Developing self-efficacy. All participants described the importance of developing self-efficacy to safely support
students with SD and CHCN across school and community environments. School nurses were viewed as vital to
providing essential training, directly addressing health emergencies, and helping teachers personally cope with
emotional difficulties associated with students' acute or degenerative health conditions and even deaths. The
majority of participants also felt school nurses were supportive of inclusive education for students whose health
care needs were either stable or variable. One participant captured this sentiment by commenting, "I think our
school nurse really understood the importance of inclusion for quality of life reasons." Participants also reported
extending the supports they received from school nurses to empower general education teachers. They believed
general educators were apprehensive and even afraid to have students with SD and CHCN in their classroom and
needed reassurance to work through those feelings.

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Positive school climate. A positive school climate was identified as essential to inclusive education for students
with SD and CHCN. Participants defined a positive school climate as welcoming general education teachers,
invested peers, and supportive administration. They emphasized the importance of building relationships with
general educators to facilitate a climate of acceptance; however, general education teachers had to be naturally
willing to accommodate students' frequent absences due to students' health issues (e.g., hospitalizations).
Participants also believed peers without disabilities had the potential to foster inclusivity and safety for students
with SD and CHCN, as evidenced by the following anecdote:
The student had a seizure and her assistant wasn't standing right next to her, so the peer next to her grabbed
her so she wouldn't fall. The peers are very protective of her. If she's gone, they ask if she is ok.
Desired supports. Participants spoke at length about supports they wished were in place to support inclusive
education. In particular, they wanted dialogue among school stakeholders (e.g., general education teachers,
administrators, parents) on how to realize inclusive education for all students. Some hoped for a mission
statement on inclusive education, while some simply hoped awareness would foster respect and acceptance of
students with SD and CHCN. One participant mused, "If only they were seen through a different lens, like every
other student with the potential to learn and live a happy, productive life." A commonly shared sentiment was
that the school principal, as a leader, sets the tone in the school. Participants wanted school principals to take
the time to get to know their students and program needs and to model for other teachers how to equitably
interact with themselves and their students. They felt these simple steps may promote their students' valued
membership in the school community.
Alternative approaches. All but one participant discussed the usefulness of alternative approaches when their
advocacy efforts fell short, or when health-related constraints (e.g., scheduling, staffing) made inclusive
education difficult to access for their students. These approaches were (a) disability specific programs (i.e. Best
Buddies and Special Olympics); (b) classroom enterprises (e.g., running a snack cart); (c) campaigns (e.g.,
Spread the Word to End the Word); (d) reverse mainstreaming (e.g., peers volunteering in the special education
classroom); and (e) visiting (e.g., joining a general education classroom for a special event). Although
participants recognized these alternative approaches were not congruent with inclusive education, they
perceived them as feasible and convenient ways to promote social interactions between students with SD and
CHCN and peers without disabilities.
Benefits
Three themes emerged regarding the benefits of inclusion for students. These were social communication
development, student engagement, and diversity awareness.
Social communication development. Participants overwhelmingly described improvements in social

communication skills as a key benefit of inclusive education for students with SD and CHCN. Commonly
described improvements were higher rates of independently initiating or responding to social interactions with
peers. This included the replacement of inappropriate behaviors (e.g., grabbing to gain attention) with
appropriate social behaviors (e.g., waving "hi"). More than half of the participants also indicated personal
satisfaction that their students appeared more motivated to use augmentative and alternative communication
(AAC) systems. They attributed students' increased motivation to use their AAC systems to increased
opportunities to communicate with peers without disabilities in inclusive settings.
Student engagement. A majority of participants identified higher levels of student engagement in general

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education classrooms compared to special education classrooms. One participant animatedly shared:
She was more alert and responding more! Her responses were specific to what was going on. In my class,
sometimes she makes a noise but it doesn't seem to be in response to what is going on in the classroom.
Additionally, participants felt that students who appeared to "struggle" with lethargy related to their medical
conditions were more likely to stay awake for the duration of a general education class period or community
activity. They also believed students exhibited behaviors indicative of looking forward to participation in inclusive
settings. Some examples provided were students smiling when tapping a visual schedule icon for a general
education class or a community setting, and "lighting up" while transitioning to the general education classroom
or community.
Diversity awareness. An additional benefit of inclusive education centered on peers without disabilities.
Participants believed peers without disabilities benefited by getting to know students with SD and CHCN, and
subsequently developing a greater appreciation of diversity. One participant explained, "Inclusive education
helps students without disabilities understand that although people with health disabilities are different, they are
just as capable in many ways. They are not fragile or breakable. They just have different health needs."
Participants who shared this belief expressed hope that peers without disabilities can foster a more inclusive
school community, and in the future, be instrumental in building a more inclusive society.
Barriers
Participants spoke in greater length and depth about barriers, as compared to other categories of findings. Three
themes emerged including attitudinal barriers, health care challenges, and administrative issues.
Attitudinal barriers. Attitudinal barriers were described as the primary challenge to inclusion. Participants
expressed concern and frustration that many general education teachers, in particular veteran teachers and
teachers who taught core academic courses, were unwelcoming to themselves or their students with SD and
CHCN. Although they talked about the importance of collaborating with general education teachers to overcome
attitudinal barriers, approximately half made comments to the effect "you cannot force collaboration." Several
participants recounted stories of attempting to include students with SD and CHCN in classes taught by general
education teachers perceived as unwelcoming, resulting in physical placement only and not acceptance as part
of the classroom community. One participant lamented:
Either people are afraid to work with them or nervous about it. It takes a lot of reassurance and a lot of training,
but some of them will flat out refuse based on the seriousness and sometimes unpredictability of the medical
issues.
Health care challenges. Health care challenges were the second most common barrier reported. Challenges
commonly related to student absences, fluctuating or unpredictable medical needs, and gradually declining
health. Absences were a concern because students fell behind in the curriculum quickly. Participants particularly
emphasized fluctuating and changing medical needs as problematic, requiring on the spot decisionmaking about
whether the student was well enough to attend general education classes or travel in the community.
There are times when inclusion is exhausting. Just going from class to class is in itself a task at times.
Sometimes you have to take it day by day and see what the student is physically able to do that day.
The distance between general education classes and the school nurse's office, particularly on larger high school

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campuses, represented another significant barrier. Participants worried about the ability to reach the nurse
promptly in the event of an emergency. Additionally, students who required 1:1 nursing supports to participate
in general education classrooms, extracurricular activities, and the community were frequently unable to do so
because no nurses were available.
Many participants expressed worry about acute medical emergencies their students had experienced at school in
the past and were understandably reticent to consider inclusive contexts that were not in direct proximity of a
school nurse unless 1:1 nursing supports were available. Finally, several participants expressed the need for
more time in IEP meetings to address students' health care needs. As one participant emphasized:
There is not enough time for just the basic everyday nuts and bolts of what we need to do to be able to help this
child be safe medically at school, let alone in general education classrooms and the community.
Administrative issues. School administration appeared to be a substantial source of frustration for participants.
Specifically, participants believed their administration did not understand or support the need for health training,
and were unwilling to allocate adequate time for school nurses to train school personnel on students' IHCPs.
They also felt their administration would not hire sufficient school nurses and 1:1 nurses, or pay for substitute
nurses when nurses were absent. Nursing shortages frequently resulted in nurses called away to address health
emergencies in other programs and schools. Consequently, students who required 1:1 nursing to participate in
general education classes, extracurricular activities, and the community were frequently unable to attend due to
nursing shortages. Even when students did not require a 1:1 nurse, several participants reported that their
school required a nurse to be present when students with SD and CHCN participated in the community. As a
result, they often had to leave these students behind at school or rely on parents to accompanying students in
the community.
Another barrier reported by half of the participants was that their administration required them to teach core
content subjects during designated periods in their self-contained special education classroom. These
participants expressed great difficulty carving out time between core content instruction and specialized health
care procedures to schedule opportunities for students to learn in inclusive settings.
Discussion
This investigation examined special education teachers' perceptions about and experiences with inclusive
education for secondary age students with SD and CHCN specific to roles, supports, benefits, and barriers. The
most salient beliefs expressed by participants focused on the safety of students in inclusive settings. Ensuring
the training, competency, and comfort of school personnel (including themselves) was intrinsic to this goal.
While participants expressed enthusiasm over the benefits they attributed to inclusive education for students
with SD and CHCN, they also encountered substantial difficulties around attitudinal, health care, and
administrative barriers.
Under IDEA (2004), students with SD and CHCN are entitled to school health services and school nurse services
to receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). Without these health services, potentially life-
threatening circumstances may occur (Heller, Forney, Alberto, Best, & Schwartzman, 2009). The safety of
students with SD and CHCN in any educational setting is the utmost priority.
A disconcerting finding in this study was that a shortage of school nurses or health-trained personnel frequently
prohibited students from accessing inclusive education. As found in prior studies, the lack of trained personnel
resulted in students experiencing more restrictive educational programming and decreased access to peers

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without disabilities (Diehl et al., 1991; Rehm & Bradley, 2006; Rehm & Rohr, 2002).
Although IDEA mandates health services necessary for students to receive FAPE, IDEA does not mandate or
regulate IHCPs which are under the purview of nursing practice. Instead, each state has a Nurse Practice Act
that specifies regulations for developing IHCPs. In addition, the American Nursing Association (ANA) and the
National Association of School Nurses (NASN) provide additional guidance regarding the delegation of safe care
(National Association of School Nurses [NASN], 2016). Unfortunately, there is a national shortage of certified
school nurses, and school nurses frequently have large caseload sizes across multiple school sites (Foustoukos et
al., 2014; Spriggle, 2009). This is highly problematic as school nurses play a pivotal role in training school
personnel and providing direct services that promote the health, well-being, and education of students (National
Association of School Nurses [NASN], 2016; American Academy of Pediatrics, 2016).
Despite these challenges, the findings of this study suggest that special education teachers who collaborate with
school nurses benefit from their expertise, and feel empowered to advocate for inclusive education for students
with SD and CHCN. In contrast, other studies have shown that school nurses are underutilized and undervalued
(Kruger, Radjenovic, Toker, & Comeaux, 2009; Pufpaff, Mcintosh, Thomas, Elam, & Irwin, 2015). Although
participants expressed significant concerns regarding nursing shortages and inadequate health training, they
overwhelmingly viewed school nurses as supportive of inclusive education and instrumental to their professional
self-efficacy. Consequently, they worked to reassure general education teachers and parents who expressed
trepidation about inclusive education for students with SD and CHCN. Such endeavors appear notably necessary
and significant in promoting inclusion for this population as other school professionals may experience
apprehension due to students' medical conditions (Jones et al., 1996; Lehr, 2014) and parents may worry about
their children's' safety outside the perceived protection of the special education classroom (Diehl et al., 1991).
Thus, special education teachers play an instrumental role as inclusion coordinator, working alongside school
nurses to oversee the health and safety of students, and helping IEP team members and other school personnel
to feel safe and comfortable (Lehr, 2014; Ward & Ward, 2014).
Despite many positive findings surrounding special education teachers' advocacy endeavors, they appeared to
struggle with strategies to promote inclusive education for students with SD and CHCN when faced with
attitudinal and administrative barriers. A major challenge identified was general education teachers (who taught
academic curriculum) that were unwilling to accommodate students. Students with SD and CHCN are particularly
at risk for falling behind in the curriculum due to a range of health-related issues, including pain, chronic fatigue,
frequent illness, and prolonged hospitalizations. A coordinated effort among educators is necessary to plan for
accommodations that ensure the educational success of students who present with chronic medical conditions
(Thies, 1999). It is possible that participants did not have knowledge of professional strategies to plan for these
accommodations or administrator leadership to establish a school-wide climate of inclusion for students with SD
and CHCN. Administrators play a key role in the successful adoption and implementation of schoolwide inclusive
educational practices (Doyle & Giangreco, 2013). Additionally, school policies requiring the common core to be
taught in the special education classroom likely added to the emphasis on inclusion in elective courses. Several
authors have noted that standards-based reform may have the unintended consequence of causing a backlash to
inclusive education (Jackson, Ryndak, & Wehmeyer, 2008; Ryndak et al., 2014).
Finally, participants did not emphasize the community as a context for inclusive education or participation in
extra-curricular activities, except for disability-focused programs such as Special Olympics. This is particularly
concerning because the community is a natural setting for older students to interact with peers and learn skills
based on their individual goals for adult life (Doyle & Giangreco, 2013; Dymond, 2012). Nursing shortages and
related administrative barriers reported apparently made community participation particularly challenging, which

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may explain why participants concentrated their efforts on including students within school campus settings. In
addition, participants did not talk about post-high school goals for their students, which also may account for
teachers' limited consideration of community-based instruction.
Limitations
Several limitations warrant consideration. This was an exploratory study that relied on self-report and a small
number of participants. Additionally, participants taught students that were representative of only a few CHCN.
Therefore, the data are unique to individual participants and may not represent the beliefs and experiences of
other special education teachers who educate middle school and high school students with SD and CHCN.
Second, recruitment occurred at the end of the school year and extended into the summer. The timing of
recruitment may have resulted in fewer interested participants. Another potential explanation may be that 145
school-age children with SD and CHCN in Illinois are placed outside of public schools in institutional settings
(Illinois Department of Human Services, 2016). Finally, it is unknown if data saturation was reached given the
small sample size, or if possible given the heterogeneity of students with SD and CHCN.
Implications for Research
The findings of this study pose several implications for future research. Given the preliminary, descriptive, and
focused nature of the current study, future research that investigates all key stakeholders using multiple case
study or grounded theory methods is needed to formulate a more holistic understanding of how inclusive
education for secondary age students with SD and CHCN is, or is not, addressed in schools. Research is also
needed to examine factors that influence where and how long students are included, as well as why disability
specific programs (e.g., Best Buddies, Special Olympics) may be perceived more favorably. Finally, participants
reported significant differences in the average amount of time students with SD and CHCN spent in inclusive
settings on a daily basis (0-200 minutes). Examining differences in variables associated with low-rates versus
high-rates of inclusion, may aide in identifying factors that enhance inclusive education for this population.
Implications for Practice
Secondary age students with SD and CHCN require supports and systems that are responsive to their unique
health needs in order to experience and benefit from inclusive education. Special education teachers can
increase their skills and knowledge of how to successfully include this population by working with the school
nurse and other team members. Health training, provided by the school nurse, is essential for all school
personnel in order to ensure the safety of students and self-efficacy of personnel to feel comfortable including
students with SD and CHCN. Additionally, special and general education teachers may benefit from learning
strategies to accommodate students and modify the curriculum to reduce the impact of students' health on their
learning and participation. Finally, administrators should provide leadership in fostering a school-wide
commitment to inclusive education. In order to ensure students with SD and CHCN experience successful
inclusion in school and community contexts, the evaluation and appropriate revision of administrative policies is
necessary. Efforts to recruit and employ adequate numbers of qualified school nurses must also be a front and
center goal, as special education teachers and other IEP team members require their expertise to safely include
this population across settings.
Sidebar
Received 8/28/2017, accepted 11/13/2017.
Authors:

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Sarah L. Ballard, Illinois State University; and Stacy K. Dymond, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sarah L. Ballard, Illinois State University, Special
Education, 512 DeGarmo Hall, Campus Box 5910, Normal, IL 61790-5910 (e-mail: slballa@ilstu.edu).
Cette etude qualitative a examine les croyances et les experiences des enseignants en adaptation scolaire
concernant l'education inclusive pour les eleves du secondaire ayant des deficits graves et des besoins de sante
complexes. Les participants etaient 11 enseignants en adaptation scolaire au primaire et au secondaire qui ont
conjointement pris en charge 18 eleves. Les donnees ont ete recueillies via des questionnaires demographiques
et des entrevues en ligne, puis analysees a l'aide d'une methode de codage inductive. Les resultats dressent un
portrait des roles du personnel qui offre du soutien aux eleves, les types de soutien dont le personnel et les
eleves ont besoin pour reussir, les avantages dont beneficient les eleves et les obstacles a leur inclusion.
Este estudio cualitativo examinoí las creencias y experiencias de los maestros de educacioí n especial sobre la
educacion inclusiva para estudiantes de secundaria con discapacidades severas y necesidades complejas de
atencion de salud coexistentes. Los participantes fueron 11 maestros de educacioí n especial de secundaria y
preparatoria que, en conjunto, manejaron a 18 estudiantes. Los datos se recopilaron a traveís de cuestionarios
demograíficos y entrevistas en líínea, y se analizaron mediante un enfoque de codificacioí n inductiva. Los
hallazgos representan los roles del personal que brinda apoyo a los estudiantes, los tipos de apoyo que el
personal y los estudiantes requieren para tener exito, los beneficios experimentados por los estudiantes y las
barreras para incluirlos.
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Copyright American Association of Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Dec 2018
Details

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Subject Public schools;

Students;
Collaboration;
Maternal & child health;
Age;
Medical technology;
Nursing care;
School nurses;
Autism;
Special education;
Educational technology;
School attendance;
Departments;
Qualitative research;
Pediatrics;
Nurses;
Learning
Location United States--US; Virginia
Company / organization Name: Department of Education

NAICS: 923110;
Name: Department of Health & Human Services

NAICS: 923120
Title Inclusive Education for Secondary Age Students With Severe

Disabilities and Complex Health Care Needs
Alternate title Éducation inclusive pour les élèves du secondaire ayant des
déficits graves et des besoins de santé complexes;
Educación Inclusiva para Estudiantes de Secundaria con
Discapacidades Graves y Necesidades Complejas de
Atención Médica
Author Ballard, Sarah L; Dymond, Stacy K
Publication title Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; Washington

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Volume 56
Issue 6
Pages 427-441,494-495,497-498
Publication date Dec 2018
Publisher American Association of Intellectual & Developmental

Disabilities
Place of publication Washington
Country of publication United States, Washington
Publication subject Education--Special Education And Rehabilitation,

Medical Sciences--Psychiatry And Neurology
ISSN 19349491
Source type Scholarly Journals
Document type Journal Article
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-56.6.427

accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright American Association of Intellectual &

Developmental Disabilities Dec 2018

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document 3 of 23
Inclusive Education: Perspectives on Implementation and Practice

From International Experts
Alternate title: L'education inclusive : perspectives sur la mise en œuvre et les pratiques selon des experts
internationaux; Educación Inclusiva: Perspectivas de Implementación y Práctica de Expertos Internacionales
Kurth, J. A., Miller, A. L., Toews, S. G., Thompson, J. R., Cortés, M., Dahal, M. H., . . . Wangare, F. (2018).
Inclusive education: Perspectives on implementation and practice from international experts. Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities, 56(6), 471-485,495-496,498-499. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-
56.6.471
Abstract
Every child has the right to an education, including children with disabilities. Research findings from across the
globe have shown the benefits of inclusive education, and mandates for providing accessible, inclusive education
can be found in national policies and international agreements as well. This article explores the perspectives of
11 international experts on the state of inclusive education in countries spanning 5 continents. Experts
participated in a focus group discussion at Inclusion International's 17th Annual World Congress 2018 in
Birmingham, United Kingdom. Participants shared multifaceted factors impacting inclusive educational practices.
Based on their experiences, participants also discussed strategies that were deemed effective or ineffective
depending on varied contextual elements. Implications for policy, research, and practice are discussed.
Alternate abstract:
Chaque enfant a le droit a l'education, y compris les enfants presentant des incapacites. Les resultats des
recherches a travers le monde ont montre les avantages de l'education inclusive, et des reglements permettant
de fournir une education accessible et inclusive peuvent egalement etre trouves dans les politiques nationales et
les accords internationaux. Cet article explore les perspectives de 11 experts internationaux sur l'etat de
l'education inclusive dans des pays des cinq continents. Des experts ont participe a une discussion de groupe au
17e congres mondial annuel d'inclusion internationale de 2018, a Birmingham, au Royaume-Uni. Les participants
ont echange sur les multiples facteurs influencant les pratiques educatives inclusives. En se basant sur leurs
experiences, les participants ont egalement discute de strategies jugees efficaces ou inefficaces en fonction de
divers elements contextuels. Les implications pour les politiques, la recherche et la pratique sont discutees. La
traduction des resumes en français a ete coordonnée par AAIDD Chapitre Quebec avec la collaboration de
Caroline Faust, Amelie Terroux, Karen Rutt, Carole Legaré, Genevieve Lord, Alexandrine Martineau-Gagne,
Marie-Josee Leclerc et Diane Morin. "AAIDD Quebec Chapter" has coordinated the French translation of the
abstracts in collaboration with Caroline Faust, Amelie Terroux, Karen Rutt, Carole Legare, Genevieve Lord,
Alexandrine Martineau-Gagne, Marie-Josee Leclerc, and Diane Morin.
Alternate abstract:
Todos los niños tienen derecho a una educacion, incluidos los niños con discapacidad. Los resultados de
investigaciones de todo el mundo han demostrado los beneficios de la educacion inclusiva, y los mandatos para
brindar una educacion accesible e inclusiva también se pueden encontrar en las políticas nacionales y en los

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acuerdos internacionales. Este artículo explora las perspectivas de 11 expertos internacionales sobre el estado
de la educacion inclusiva en países de 5 continentes. Los expertos participaron en una discusion de grupos
focales en el 17° Congreso Mundial Anual 2018 de Inclusion International en Birmingham, Reino Unido. Los
participantes compartieron factores multifaceticos que impactan las practicas educativas inclusivas. Sobre la
base de sus experiencias, los participantes tambien discutieron estrategias que se consideraron efectivas o
ineficaces segun diversos elementos contextuales. Se discuten las implicaciones para la política, la investigacion
y la practica. La traducción de los resúmenes al español ha sido coordinada por el Departamento de Diversidad e
Inclusividad Educativa de la Universidad Catolica del Maule, Talca, Chile. Con la colaboracion de Constanza
Sepulveda-Hernandez, Beatriz Mendoza-Albornoz, Palmenia Pinochet-Quiroz, Daniela Ibarra-SepMveda, Claudio
Ulloa-Yevenes, Manuel Monzalve-Macaya y Juan Lagos-Luciano. The translation into Spanish has been
coordinated by the Department of Diversity and Educational Inclusion of Catholic University of Maule, Talca,
Chile; with the colaboration of Constanza SeptUveda-Hernández, Beatriz Mendoza-Albornoz, Nicole Abdala-
Rebolledo, Palmenia Pinochet-Quiroz, Daniela Ibarra-Sepiilveda, Claudio Ulloa-Yevenes, Manuel Monzalve-
Macaya and Juan Lagos-Luciano.
Full Text
Headnote
Abstract
Every child has the right to an education, including children with disabilities. Research findings from across the
globe have shown the benefits of inclusive education, and mandates for providing accessible, inclusive education
can be found in national policies and international agreements as well. This article explores the perspectives of
11 international experts on the state of inclusive education in countries spanning 5 continents. Experts
participated in a focus group discussion at Inclusion International's 17th Annual World Congress 2018 in
Birmingham, United Kingdom. Participants shared multifaceted factors impacting inclusive educational practices.
Based on their experiences, participants also discussed strategies that were deemed effective or ineffective
depending on varied contextual elements. Implications for policy, research, and practice are discussed.
Key Words: inclusive education; international perspectives; intellectual and developmental disabilities
The right to receive an education exists for children and youth in many countries across the world; this right is
affirmed in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) position statement,
originating in 1948 and updated in 2015. From Canada to Colombia to Comoros to Croatia, children have the
opportunity to receive an education with their peers. Yet, millions of children are deprived of this right as a result
of social, cultural, and economic factors (UNESCO, 2017). One factor impacting equitable access to education is
the presence of a disability. Children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are often
systematically excluded from schools altogether, and general education classrooms in particular (Aruna, 2016;
Peters, 2003). A 2018 World Bank World Development report indicated, "even in countries with high overall
primary school enrollments, children with disabilities are still significantly less likely to attend school" (p. 63).
Children and youth with disabilities are much less likely to attend school than children without disabilities,
particularly at higher grade levels (Kuper et al., 2014). For over 30 years, the United Nations (UN), national
governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), advocacy groups, and citizens across the globe have
been advocating and producing legislation to support access to inclusive education for children with IDD
(Inclusion International, 2017; UNESCO, 1994). This article explores the perspectives and experiences of several
international experts on the state of inclusive education in countries that span five continents. Factors impacting

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inclusive educational practices, as well as strategies that are seen as effective and ineffective, are explored.
Defining Inclusion and Inclusive Education
Special education emerged from a medical model of disability, in which disability was viewed as a pathology and
therefore a problem (Fisher & Goodley, 2007), and at a time when specialization was heralded in much of the
world (Sailor, 20082009). As a consequence, developing means to separate students and implement specialized
services was valued by many professionals (Kafle, 2014). Thus, the practice of special education today tends to
reflect this process of separating students with disabilities from the setting, activities, supports, and curriculum
available to students without disabilities. Moreover, special education practices and processes have traversed
geographical boundaries across national and international contexts.
However, the position that students with disabilities should be educated in general schools, with supports
provided, has existed since at least the 1960s. The principle of normalization emerged in northern Europe (Nirje,
1969), and advocated that the patterns of life and conditions of everyday living for people with disabilities should
be as close as possible to the circumstances and ways of life in the broader social community. This idea was
soon applied to schools in Europe and beyond; by the 1970s, countries such as France and Canada prioritized
the integration of students with disabilities in public schools, although separate schools remained (Thomazet,
2009). Often, however, integration was in reality mainstreaming, in which students with disabilities were only
integrated when they were thought to be able to complete the same curriculum as their peers (Abosi, & Koay,
2008; Hotulainen & Takala, 2014). Thus, terms such as inclusion and inclusive education emerged to
differentiate practices.
Inclusive education is "a process that helps overcome barriers" to presence, participation, and achievement in
general education classes; inclusive education "strengthen^] the capacity of the education system to reach out
to all learners" (UNESCO, 2017 p. 7). Inclusive education refers to all students, including those with identified
disabilities, as well as those who have been historically marginalized, and refers to full membership in general
education classes through provision of supports and services to enable youth to be successful in that place
(Waitoller & Kozleski, 2013). Importantly, however, inclusion is not defined as a place; rather, it is a process and
practice of designing schools to support and benefit all learners (Artiles & Kozleski, 2016). For the purpose of
this article, we use the definition of inclusive education outlined in the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994):
"All children should learn together. .. .Inclusive schools must recognize and respond to the diverse needs of their
students.. .ensuring quality education to all through appropriate curricula, organizational arrangements, teaching
strategies, resource use, and partnerships with their communities" (p. 11-12).
Conceptual Framework
Ecological systems theory is used in this article to account for the varying contextual factors impacting students
with disabilities. Bronfenbrenner (1979, 1998) explained how relationships across various interdependent social
structures affect individuals, and how interactions with these systems shape student experiences and
opportunities. Ecological systems theory places the student at the center and identifies the overlapping and
interrelated systems that effect the individual. We use ecological systems theory to consider how micro-, meso-,
exo-, macro-, and chrono-systems influence the experiences of inclusive schooling for students with disabilities.
Student. Student characteristics reflect those that are assumed and factual, each of which can influence
placement decisions (Ruppar, Allcock, & Gonsier-Gerdin, 2017). A student's race, gender, and age are all known
co-variates of student placement in inclusive versus separate settings. For example, a recent global analysis
reported structural inequalities resulted in the overrepresentation of ethnic minority, immigrant, and Indigenous

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youth receiving special education services (Cooc & Kiru, 2018). Similarly, research in Bangledesh revealed
students with intellectual disability (ID) who experience challenges in literacy were most likely to face exclusion,
with only 16% of schools reporting they were prepared to support youth with disabilities (¡Siska & Habib, 2013).
Likewise, research from the World Health Organization indicated students with IDD across many countries,
including those with high rates of school attendance, were more likely to be placed in more restrictive settings or
to not attend school at all (World Health Organization, 2011). Nevertheless, broad international support exists
for the practice of inclusive education when child outcomes are considered. For example, in an analysis of 280
research studies in 25 countries, Hehir and colleagues concluded, "the evidence presented.. .provides a clear
message that inclusion should be the norm for students with disabilities" (2016, p. 26).
Microsystem and Mesosystem. The microsystem refers to the environments where a student immediately
interacts with others on a regular basis and includes families and teachers. Teachers are greatly impacted by
inclusive education, because inclusive education usually means "changing the way things are normally done"
(O'Rourke, 2015, p. 231). When teachers consider inclusive education, they tend to contemplate practical
difficulties rather than the benefits to students (Scruggs & Mastropieri, 1996). Perceptions of inclusive education,
then, have significant consequences on local school level implementation (Beacham & Rouse, 2012). There is
growing international consensus that teachers have general dispositional support for inclusive education at the
preservice (Avramidis, Bayliss, & Burden, 2000; Cameron & Cook, 2007) and inservice levels (Ahmmed,
Sharma, & Deppeler, 2012; Dupoux, Wolman, & Estrada, 2005). However, this support is often mediated by
professional expertise and experience (Cagran & Schmidt, 2011), as well as the extensiveness of students'
support needs (Haq & Mundia, 2012).
The family unit is also deeply impacted by the presence or absence of inclusive education within the mesosystem
(Piskur et al., 2016). For example, Human Rights Watch (2018) found children with disabilities in Lebanon were
excluded from school "due to discriminatory admission policies, lack of reasonable accommodations, lack of
inclusive curricula, and discriminatory fees and expenses" (paragraph 4). Consequently, families may be required
to provide necessary supports for their children that schools did not. For example, parents in India may be
expected to hire "Ayahs," or assistants, to support their child to gain physical access to schools, such as climbing
stairs and using toilets (Naraian, 2013). In other instances, families themselves are expected to provide the
physical and academic supports to their children while they are at school.
Exosystem. The exosystem consists of social structures, events, and processes which indirectly impact the
student in their immediate environment. Teacher education and experiences are considered here (Ruppar et al.,
2017). Teacher education and experiences teaching students with disabilities in general, and inclusively, vary
considerably across and within nations and regions. For example, some teacher preparation at colleges and
universities include coursework specifically focused on inclusive pedagogy (e.g., Spratt & Florian, 2015), whereas
teachers in other situations report receiving no preservice preparation for inclusive education (e.g., Westbrook &
Croft, 2015). Yet, teacher ratings of self-efficacy and attitudes about inclusive education improve, while concerns
decrease, following courses related to inclusive education (Sharma & Sokal, 2015). Similarly, motivation and
previous experience with inclusive education improve teacher self-efficacy for inclusive education (Schwab,
Hellmich, & Gorel, 2017). And, teacher attitudes toward students with disabilities have a significant impact on
student academic success and behavior (Oluremi, 2015). Together, these findings suggest significant positive
impacts of preservice teacher preparation for inclusive education (Robinson, 2017).
Macrosystem. The macrosystem refers to policies, structures, cultural, and social values impacting students with
disabilities and their access to inclusive education. On the policy level, the UN has been a strong proponent of
every child's right to education. Beginning with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signatory

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countries have agreed to provide a free, compulsory education to all children regardless of race, gender,
language, color, socioeconomic status, national origin, or birth order (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
1989; UN General Assembly, 1948). However, it was not until The Salamanca Statement in 1994 that there was
a stated urgency and necessity to provide access to education for children with disabilities (UNESCO, 1994). This
commitment was solidified in 2006 with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (UNCRPD),
which asserts all signatory countries ensure an inclusive education system at all levels (UN, 2006, Article 24(1))
and further stipulates that no child should be excluded from the general education system on the basis of
disability (UN, 2006, Article 24 (2)(a)). The United Nations' Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
adopted General Comment #4 in August of 2016 to provide further guidance regarding the meaning and
implications of Article 24 (Office of the High Commissioner Human Rights, OHCHR, 2018). As of June 2018, 177
countries have ratified the convention and 11 countries have signed to indicate they are considering ratification
pending further review (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities, 2018). Recently,
the UN Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development further asserted a commitment
to inclusive education, suggesting countries "build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability, and
gender sensitive" as one way to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all (UN Resolution A, 2015,
(4)(a)). The 2017 UNESCO Guide to Equity and Inclusion further supports implementation of goal four of the
2030 Agenda by presenting specific guidance for integrating inclusive practice into national policy (UNESCO,
2017).
Other cultural and social values further impact children with disabilities and their access to inclusive schools,
including how societal members view the etiology of disability. Causes of disability have been attributed to a
range of sources, including witchcraft, family curses, and blessings and gifts from a higher power. Causes of
disability have also been attributed to genetic factors, medical interventions (e.g., birth circumstances, illness;
Grech, 2014), and environmental factors (e.g., war, natural disasters; Mills & Fernando, 2014). These beliefs are
based on a combination of ethnocultural, economic, and personal considerations (Lamichhane, 2013) and have
influences across ecological systems (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998).
Chronosystem. The chronosystem refers to changes over time that affect a student. Numerous international
policy changes, as described previously, have certainly impacted access to inclusive schools for students with
disabilities. Other chronosystems impact inclusive education as well. Many countries have deep histories of
discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and gender. Such practices inevitably influence on-going cultural norms
and practices (Engelbrecht, 2006). The historical segregation of people with disabilities into institutions and
special schools is likely a significant factor in the persistent lack of equitable inclusive schooling today (Slee,
2013). As a consequence of this, dual programs of education have emerged: special and general education.
These competing systems have proved difficult to disentangle and merge into unified, inclusive systems that
support all students (Naraian, 2013), and continue to serve as barriers to equitable inclusive education
worldwide.
Research Purpose and Question
The purpose of this research was to gain an international perspective on the state of inclusive education (i.e.,
educating students with disabilities in general education classrooms alongside peers of their same age with
appropriate supports). The specific goals were to understand the (1) contextual factors impacting inclusive
education and (2) status of inclusive education in represented countries, including perceived successful
strategies for promoting inclusive education and existing barriers. The following research question is thus
addressed: What are the opinions and experiences of particular international experts on the status of inclusive
education for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the countries and/or provinces in which

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they work?
Method
The purpose of this study was to describe the perspectives of 11 international experts attending Inclusion
International's 17th Annual World Congress 2018 in Birmingham, United Kingdom regarding the state of
inclusive education in the countries and provinces in which they worked and lived, or felt they could speak to
regarding recent past work- or life-related experiences. The organizers of the conference identified 13 potential
participants who had a strong reputation in the area of inclusive education due to their leadership in diverse
parts of the world. Eleven (11) of the 13 were available to arrive at the conference early and participate in the
focus group. The participants are listed in alphabetical order as authors 5-15 in this article. (The goal of the
focus group was to obtain diverse perspectives on inclusive education. The conclusions and opinions
communicated in this article do not necessarily represent the opinions of all participants or the position of the
institutions to which they are affiliated.)
Participants and Settings
The participants represented nine home countries: Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, India, Kenya, Nepal,
Nicaragua, Philippines, and Portugal. They shared experiences related to said home countries in addition to
experiences they have had working and/or living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro,
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Comoros, Ethiopia, Ghana, Italy, Mali, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
United States, and Zanzibar as well as the Canadian provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick. Four
participants were parents of a child with a disability and two were family members of a person with a disability.
Their positions varied and included educator, school administrator, governmental position in disability services,
private organization in disability advocacy or services, and university faculty member. Years of experience
ranged from 10 to 47 years (Mdn = 23). None of the experts identified as a person with a disability.
Role of the Researcher
The research team consisted of two university faculty members and two doctoral students. The research team
was entirely from the United States and all identified as White. One team member had worked with teachers and
youth overseas, and one had spent 4 years of her childhood in Western Europe. One team member was a parent
of an individual with a disability and two had siblings who identified as having a disability.
All research team members had assumed various roles in school settings prior to working on or completing their
doctoral studies in special education in the United States. The team shared common research agendas focused
on inclusive education and individuals with IDD. Based on the literature as well as our teaching experiences and
research interests, the team hypothesized that experts would share dynamic and diverse experiences concerning
disability and inclusive education. We aimed to better understand their multifaceted experiences at local,
regional, and country levels across policies, practices, structures, and belief systems.
Data Sources and Collection
The focus group took place in person and was conducted by one member of the research team, also an attendee
of the conference. We obtained informed consent from each participant prior to the start of the focus group. The
semistructured interview was guided by an interview protocol (Merriam, 2002). The conversations that ensued
were open-ended, but the guiding questions focused on inclusive education for youth with IDD. Prompts
included: What is the current status of inclusive education in your country or in countries in which you are

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familiar? Are there any means to measure, or monitor, the status of inclusive education? What are some possible
cultural norms or expectations in your country or other countries with which you are familiar that might serve to
either encourage more inclusive education or discourage it? The focus group was audio recorded and sent to a
third-party transcription service.
Data Analysis
Three of the four research team members participated in the analysis and met at least once a week throughout
this phase. First, the team read through the focus group transcript while listening to the audio recording. Any
transcription errors were edited at this time. Then the team read through the transcript a second time to begin
looking for small meaningful units of information as conveyed by the participants as related to the research
question (Maxwell, 2013; Rodwell, 1998). The units (sometimes entire quotes) were sorted into categories and
the categories were then defined. The team members used structural coding in this first round of analysis.
Structural coding helped the research team look for similarities and differences across participant perspectives
pertaining to each interview question (Saldaña, 2013). While presenting representative units, categories, and
definitions to one another, the team looked for overlap and disagreement in how members had conceptualized
their categories by staying close to the data and returning to the transcript (Rodwell, 1998). The team sought
consensus on disagreements, reorganized the emerging codes, and created a code book by using causation
coding in the second round. Causation coding led the team to focus on the participants' perspectives around the
causes and outcomes as they pertained to the status of inclusive education (Saldaña, 2013). Then, team
engaged in codifying as the codes were reapplied to the data (Saldaña, 2013).
Credibility and Trustworthiness
The team sought credible qualitative inquiry through several means. First, the team engaged in collaborative
work which involved multiple team members in the analysis of the participants' realities (Brantlinger, Jimenez,
Klingner, Pugach, & Richardson, 2005). Second, when possible, the team used the language of the participants
to name and define the categories (Charmaz, 2006). Staying close to the data and using the language of the
participants increased the credibility in the analysis. Finally, the team engaged in second-level member-checking
wherein the analysis and interpretations were presented to the participants prior to publication for support of the
research teams' conclusions (Brantlinger et al., 2005).
Findings
Focus group participants discussed contextual factors that impacted inclusive education as a dynamic construct
based on their experiences. Contextual factors included spatial, historical/ temporal, ideological, social, political,
and economic elements. Following, we present findings from the focus group discussion in regard to participants'
perspectives concerning (a) how these complex factors intersected and lived out across diverse and dynamic
contexts, (b) strategies for promoting inclusive education, and (c) barriers to inclusive education.
Political and Ideological Dialectics
Focus group participants often discussed how political and ideological factors impacted the status of inclusive
education in nuanced and dynamic ways. Moreover, participants also described ways in which political and
ideological factors intersected and in doing so, influenced the status of inclusive education in tandem in
particular countries. We defined political factors as: "Participants discuss political factors that impact the status
of inclusive education, including local and national governmental policies, decisions, and implementation
strategies." Political factors were also represented when participants discussed competing agendas across

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organizations and governmental structures. We defined ideological factors as: "Participants discuss how there
are different perspectives on, beliefs about, and definitions for what inclusive education means and therefore
how it is enacted." Ideological factors were also represented when members described who inclusive education
was for and how disability was (or was not) conceptualized in their respective countries.
Beliefs about inclusive education were impacted by policies from within governmental structures. For example, in
Nicaragua, students with disabilities were supported by the government to attend school. Indiana, the director of
an organization promoting the advancement of inclusive practices in Nicaragua, explained, "Children have
support, we have a structure from the Ministry of Education that supports [children with disabilities participating
in inclusive education], but the concept of support is with a special focus. Not with an inclusive focus." Here
Indiana explained how a dual system was operating in Nicaragua. The idea of inclusive education was supported
through governmental policy, but the act of inclusive education lived out as a traditional separate entity.
Ruchi, a consultant on inclusive education at the World Bank, shared a similar sentiment. She explained how
many countries have strong, official policies at the national level which are very supportive of inclusive
education. But the national policies are not necessarily consistent with interpretations and actions at the local
school or classroom level. In some cases this is because the policy is not sufficiently explicit (e.g., the policy was
not understood to be applicable to children with IDD). As Indiana discussed earlier, several participants shared
experiences where ideologies that were left unfinished or misunderstood at the government level had lasting
impacts on actions and planning within local communities and schools.
As the group members shared the complexities of the status of inclusive education across countries, another
political-ideological interaction was shared through Jan's experiences. Jan, an academic in The Czech Republic,
spoke about consulting with the Ethiopian government. He described how Ethiopia, as one of the only countries
in Africa that was not colonized, had recently developed a 10-year master plan for inclusive education. He
further explained, "Ethiopia does have two strong policies on inclusive education." While he noted this was a step
in the right direction from a political standpoint, two ideological factors arose. Although there are only a small
number of special schools in Ethiopia relative to the large population and the geographical size of the country,
there has been an "unwillingness of special schools to turn into, to be open to inclusive education." The second
ideological factor was that youth with IDD were placed on a hierarchy of access wherein they would be "the last
to have access to education." In other words, Ethiopia's government was preparing policy documents that would
guide the country's schools in becoming more inclusive. Yet, conflicting beliefs about what inclusive education
was and who it was meant for persisted in practice.
Space and Economics Intersect
Participants discussed ways in which elements of spatiality as well as economic influences impacted the status of
inclusive education. Spatial factors encompassed how inclusive education was or was not enacted through and
across varied settings, including physical school structures and where children spent time during the day. We
defined spatial factors as: "Participants discuss spatial factors that impact the status of inclusive education,
including physical structures, construction, and spatial infrastructure planning." Within this complex junction,
participants also discussed economic influences such as neoliberal-driven decisions wherein schools took up
business models when considering the impact on change towards inclusive education. We defined economic
factors as: "Participants discuss economic factors that impact the status of inclusive education, including money,
purchases, and costs." Although spatial factors as well as economic elements impacted the status of inclusive
education on their own, participants also discussed ways in which spatial and economic factors worked in
tandem to influence the status of inclusive education in their respective countries.

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Participants discussed ways in which spatial and economic factors operated together to impact access to schools
for youth with disabilities. Here, access included material, physical, social, and academic access. For example,
Monica, the director of a Colombian organization that promotes inclusive education, stated, "We know how many
students have registered in the [school] system but we don't know how many are out [of school youth]. .. .We
need to call it what it is. In many countries maintaining a dual system of education is a business." Monica's
perspective echoed how different spatial factors, including where youth were located (out of school versus in
school, in the register versus invisible), intersected with how schools were being operated (based on a business
model).
Later in the focus group, the complexities of space and economics arose when discussing resources (material,
economic, social) across countries. Gordon, the director of Inclusive Education Canada, explained, "So in
wealthier places, you can buy solutions that sort of mask the problem in a way that you can't in poor countries.
They can't buy that. .. .You can ease the tension in rich countries because you can buy temporary solutions."
Here, Gordon described how money could ease the strain associated with advancing inclusive education by
"masking" what is actually happening in a particular location. In this way, monetary resources could be used to
preserve previously established educational practices in schools at local and national levels.
It was revealed through the participants' conversations that change concerning inclusive education for youth
with disabilities is multifaceted. Paula, the owner and principal researcher at Disability, Education and
Development and a native of Portugal, acting as Senior Technical Consultant for Inclusion International, also
responded to the questions surrounding resources. Specifically, she noted how an overabundance of resources
can act a barrier to inclusive education: "In rich countries, you [can] have a lot more segregation. Toronto is a
rich city and it can have a school for the deaf, a school for the blind because it has more resources." Here Paula
complicated the narrative that although wealthier countries (economics) can have more inclusive schools and
communities (space), that is not always the case.
Strategies for Promoting Inclusive Education
Participants shared a number of strategies that facilitate the implementation of inclusive education locally and
nationally, including using collective agency, using model schools, contextualizing practices, and shifting
ideologies.
Having collective agency. We defined collective agency as: "Participants discussed working with political leaders,
families, and other leaders to advocate for inclusive education." Collective agency was discussed by participants
through examples of actions they, along with others, have undertaken. For example, Fatma, with Inclusion
Africa, discussed establishing a working relationship with a newly appointed directorate in the Kenyan
government: "We have regular interactions with them. And there is a lot of discussion [about] moving towards
inclusive education." Collective agency was not discussed by participants as a singular effort; rather, as Indiana
described in her work with families and the Ministry of Education in Nicaragua, it is a sustained effort to "push
the topic [of]...real inclusive education" across many opportunities. The participants' responses thus
demonstrated the on-going need to work together, over time, to advocate for and implement equitable inclusive
education.
Using model schools. This group of experts also discussed the importance of making inclusive education visually
and tangibly real to stakeholders to make a very abstract idea real. We defined the use of the model schools
strategy as: "Participants discussed taking stakeholders to visit model inclusive schools." Participants considered
strengths of this approach as bridging theory into practice. As Jan noted, model schools "play a very important
role in promoting inclusive education [for] others on the regional or local level." Although participants identified

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strengths of this strategy, they also acknowledged some of its complications. It was noted that many of these
model classrooms originated as pilot programs, and once the funding for these pilot programs end, so do the
inclusive classrooms. Ruchi pointed out that what is needed is a focus on sustainability that incorporated the
strengths and skills of the local community to maintain these model inclusive pilot programs over the long term.
Another complication to model schools was explained by participants as a contextual fit between the model
school and the local community. As Jan noted, "an excellent school or model might be completely different than
the [local] context." Thus, there is limited expectation that a model school will contribute to creating further
inclusive schools; instead, Jan suggested creating "case studies" in which inclusive model schools share
strategies that worked, and did not work, as a strategy for bridging a gap between model school and local
contexts. As discussed by the participants, the potential benefit of using model schools is making inclusive
practices visible and tangible for a wider audience; however, the participants also note the potential pitfalls of
model schools in terms of sustainability and contextual fit.
Contextualizing practices. The need to contextualize practices was a dominant strategy discussed by the
participants. We defined contextualizing practices as: "Participants discussed strategies that accounted for
situations in particular towns, cities, and countries that would move processes and practices towards greater
inclusivity in schools." As Gordon noted, inclusion is going to look and be different in diverse local and national
areas, because conditions and practices of schools vary globally. As an example, he noted schools in India may
have 50 students in a class, whereas Canadian classrooms may have 25 students. The teaching practices and
supports in these contexts will necessarily vary, but students with disabilities can be successfully included in
natural proportions in both contexts. Similarly, Paula noted that she has worked in countries that have "no
special schools, no special education personnel trained." She pointed out "[There] are no support services, and
children with disabilities have never been in school. My approach to [promoting] inclusive education is going to
be completely different [in places without existing special schools compared to places like] Eastern Europe with a
very solid tradition of special education."
Participants discussed the need to contextualize practices in contrast with the top-down, onesize-fits-all
approach common from many governments and NGOs. Instead, as Gordon stated, "people will develop their own
good practice" to fit the local contextual strengths and needs, and that doing so will require ongoing work, as
"new problems are identified [and] new [contextually relevant] solutions sought." This idea of building on local
capacity was expanded upon by Mukunda, the president of The National Association of Intellectual Disabilities
and Parents in Nepal, who described a process for identifying strengths and opportunities: "What infrastructure
do we have? How can we make this classroom inclusive?" A further example of contextualizing discussed by the
participants related to understanding needs in a broader national context. As Rolando, an expert on inclusive
education from the Philippines working for UNICEF Kenya, noted, governments and NGOs are often forced to
make decisions based on local and national priorities, and because some countries grapple with repeated natural
disasters, such as typhoons and earthquakes in the Philippines, national leaders may be tempted to say "there's
so [many] bigger problems... your issue [inclusion] is not as important as these other issues." To account for
this, one strategy identified by Monica was to advocate that school resources are used for all students, so that
"everybody can be better."
Participants also expanded contextualizing practices beyond physical environments and related it to the people
working for inclusive education. This form of contextualization related to inclusive education experts needing to
be both cognizant of their role as an outsider and to build local capacity. At times, participants described being
positioned as an outside expert as threatening to the local community. Fatma described this tension, noting that
colleagues have told her she is "bringing Western concepts to Kenya." Thus, the participants described a need to
address contextualization in their work, such as providing information assisting colleagues to think through

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information rather than "imposing something." Tapping into political goodwill and flexibility in local communities
who are interested in supporting members of their own communities was also described: "Communities have
come in to support [students with disabilities].. .[they] build ramps, accessible toilets, [provide] teacher aids to
support teachers" and generally provide substantive resources to support the children in their community.
Throughout the discussion, participants identified a variety of strategies to promote a contextual fit for
implementing and sustaining inclusive practices, including understanding the historical and contemporary
educational practices of the community and nation, building and engaging local capacity with a focus on all
students, and capitalizing on local systems of support.
Shifting ideologies. Just as contextualizing was discussed as a key strategy for supporting inclusive education,
participants reported the need to shift ideologies to reflect increasing inclusive practices. Shifting ideologies was
defined as "Participants discussed reimagining and reframing education as inclusive of all students." Shifting
ideologies, then, meant "changing the lens" of how inclusive education is discussed and envisioned. Participants
noted that countries without established segregated models of education presented unique opportunities to build
inclusive schools from the beginning. As Paula noted, "what you are going to have to do is create a system from
the ground up.. .which means that you are not going to spend your money and time and effort in creating
special schools and special education staff, and all of those mechanisms that have been a barrier." Participants
identified this as an occasion to expand the idea of inclusive schools to benefit all marginalized students. As
Indiana stated, "we have to [be] open with other groups.. .that are excluded for any reason.. .and [work
together] for inclusive education for all." Participants discussed how forming alliances facilitates shifting of
ideologies to embrace the goal of inclusive education for all. Participants described how this might require
advocates to simplify the message of inclusive education. Repeating the simple message that inclusion means
"all children [are] in school together, all children learn together" might make the movement towards inclusive
education more impactful and sustaining. In their conversations, participants noted the opportunities for
expanding the focus of inclusive education to be truly inclusive of all students, noting the benefits such a
comprehensive, simplified definition would confer to stakeholders.
Barriers to Inclusive Education
Participants shared barriers to inclusive practices. We defined barriers as: "Any system, practice, or thinking that
promotes inclusive education for some but not all students." In other words, "taking baby steps" toward
inclusion in ways that are unsustainable or that negatively impact access to general education content and
contexts act as a barrier to authentic, workable inclusive education. A readiness approach to inclusive education,
sustainability, and external support were identified by multiple participants as barriers to the continued
implementation of inclusive practices. These barriers to inclusion were strategies or practices that inhibited
progress or promoted more segregated educational practices.
Readiness approach. A readiness approach to inclusive education was defined as: "Practices that continually
exclude children with disabilities from the general education content and contexts until they meet prerequisite
skills or levels of independence." This approach included systems and practices that considered inclusive
education as a viable option for only children who "fit" into the existing general education system without
needing extensive individualized supports. Monica described elements of the readiness model as the view that
"the child is not ready;" acknowledging that this "tends to be the rationale people use" to explain why certain
students are not eligible to be included in general education classes. Fatma added that many children are placed
in special education classes based solely on a medical diagnosis or academic assessment. As an example, she
noted that if a student "has Down syndrome, [they are] placed in a special unit. [Student placement] does not
look beyond the diagnosis to what supports and services the child requires for them to be able to learn on an

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equal basis with the others." The readiness approach seemed to extend out of schools and into policy. Ruchi
found in her recent analysis of education sector plans for 51 countries that children with IDD were rarely
mentioned. Instead, what were generally captured in terms of implementation provision and action planning
were students who do not require extensive supports to access inclusive educational opportunities. Several other
participants confirmed that this was also their experience. The readiness approach, or belief that children with
IDD are not prepared or do not have adequate skills to participate in general education content and contexts,
was a theme woven through the discussion by many participants.
Sustainability. A second theme identified across participants as a barrier to inclusive practices was sustainability.
Participants defined the barrier of sustainability as: "Practices that are advocated for and implemented by
individuals or short-term initiatives such as pilot programs that are not able to be scaled up." The difficulty of
having only small pockets of support for inclusive education was described by Diane, chair of the Catalyst for
Inclusive Education Initiative of Inclusion International: "There may be children with disabilities who are included
well in a particular class or in a school, but that is so dependent on the particular teacher or the fact that a child
does not need anything that would require systemic support." She added that when a child with disabilities who
was included moves to a different grade or school with less support for inclusion, they are typically placed back
in a more segregated learning environment. Inclusive pilot-school programs were identified as a threat to the
sustainability of inclusive practices. Gordon stated that pilot-schools "are a waste of time" and expressed,
"Making schools inclusive is an ongoing, everlasting challenge.. .and [short term] pilots are never going to get
you to where you want to go." Instead, ongoing support from a systems level, with policy makers, school
administration, teachers, and parents, continually working together to sustain inclusive practices is a necessity.
External supports. Last, external support in the form of foreign aid and NGO initiatives emerged as a theme in
the discussion of barriers to inclusive education. The theme of external support as a barrier was defined as: "The
integration of financial or material supports that do not promote inclusive practices or intentionally integrate
separate educational services for children with disabilities." Diane explained a frequent problem of external
support occurs when governments accepted foreign aid with no measure of what it will accomplish, "whether it is
another donor country, a multilateral institution, or international non-government organization, if someone is
bringing money into a country, they are allowed to do whatever they want." The problem occurred when there
was "no standard in terms of what they are promoting in terms of education of students with disabilities"
because they may be perpetuating segregated support models. Although participants discussed positive impacts
NGOs have regarding inclusive education, their comments often came with a caveat such as Indiana's, "I saw an
international organization supporting a primary school [where the] focus is special, and they do not know
anything about inclusive education." Ines also voiced concerns about schools run by NGOs, "Even [international
and local NGOs] run some schools. Which, they are not schools, they are day programs for people with
disabilities." Indiana suggested that this barrier may be best addressed by fostering collaboration between
advocacy groups, NGOs, donors, and governments.
Discussion
Analysis of the focus group transcripts revealed a rich discussion amongst the 11 experts on inclusive education,
representing five continents. Multiple factors affecting inclusive education were identified, including barriers and
facilitators.
Participants identified a variety of intersecting factors impacting inclusive education, including policy, space, and
economics. Education policy was described in terms of both its written content and how it is enacted, with
participants identifying ways in which these often contrasted. Although developing written policy is an important
first step in creating innovative practices, the capacity of policy to accomplish national and international goals

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remains uncertain (e.g., Daeyoung & Dhungana, 2014). Participants similarly noted tensions between space and
economics when describing factors associated with inclusive education. Although access to physical and
monetary resources may support inclusive practices in some locales, access to resources can also serve as a
barrier to inclusive education by facilitating the construction of separate, specialized facilities (Slee, 2008).
Similarly, contexts with less access to monetary resources may be rich in human resources, enabling
communities to develop highly supportive inclusive schools, which is less costly than building separate,
specialized schools (World Health Organization, 2011, Ch. 7).
Among the strategies for implementing inclusive education, participants highlighted the need to focus on
contextual fit when transferring successful practices from one setting to another, collective agency, and focusing
on all students. Contextual fit was described as using local resources, strengths, and capacity to implement
inclusive practices. International studies have consistently recognized local teachers and schools require human
and material resources to implement inclusive practices, and that such resources are most effective when they
align with contextual needs and strengths (e.g., Ahmmed et al., 2012). When considered globally, the need for
contextual fit becomes even clearer, as resources, needs, and capacities in terms of teacher preparation, policy,
and historical contexts vary considerably and play important roles in determining the most effective strategies
for implementing inclusive education practices.
Participants also noted a shifting of the lens of inclusive education to be truly all-encompassing of all
marginalized students, not just those who experience disability. This was identified by participants as a
philosophical value (Shyman, 2015), but also a practical strategy. Combining advocacy resources allows
stakeholders to work together towards a common goal of quality, inclusive education for all students, preventing
the fracturing of messages and resources. Participants noted this will require collective agency, but also a
uniform definition of inclusive education. The movement towards inclusive education has long been plagued by
lack of consistent definition of the term globally (e.g., Thomazet, 2009; Waitoller & Kozleski, 2013). To make
progress, then, a definition of inclusive education that is comprehensive in its focus on all students, and easy to
describe to others, is needed.
Three barriers to inclusive education were identified consistently across participants. Barriers included a
readiness approach to inclusive education, sustainable instructional models, and external support. A readiness
approach to inclusive education was described by participants as practices in which students must attain certain
skill levels before being included. International research corroborates the participant discussion, noting schools
and education systems typically situate the barrier to inclusive education within the student, rather than
addressing the educational resources and accommodations necessary for students (Daeyoung & Dhungana,
2014; De Los Rios, 2007). An equitybased approach that adheres to the UNCRPD call to provide effective
supports that maximize academic and social development is necessary to move away from the exclusionary
practices of a readiness approach (UN, 2006). Additionally, it will be important for teachers, administrators, and
policy makers to shift beliefs that highlight student deficit to a more strengths-based approach (Johnstone &
Chapman, 2009; Oluremi, 2015).
Sustainability of inclusive practices emerged as a barrier described by many focus group participants. Focusing
on pilot programs, or individual teachers or schools, rather than systems-level change embodied this barrier.
Although pilot programs have been effective in changing local attitudes toward inclusive education, without
explicit local and national policy in conjunction with systems-level support, it is unlikely pilot programs will have
a lasting or far-reaching impact on inclusive practices (World Health Organization, 2011). Rather, multilevel,
systemic support for inclusive education has been identified as a necessity to ensure sustainability of inclusive
education for students with disabilities (Johnstone & Chapman, 2009).

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External support in the form of donor aid or initiatives also emerged as a barrier to inclusive practices.
Participants reported countries often accept financial or material aid for education without ensuring the
implementation of that aid reflects inclusive practices. Consequently, multiple international NGOs, bilateral
agencies, multilateral agencies under the UN, and the national government may all run separate educational
initiatives (Kafle, 2014). Thus, there is a need for all initiatives to have a common philosophy of inclusive
education.
Limitations and Future Directions for Research
The limitations of the present study inform future research. The single focus group as the corpus of data
analyzed is the most significant limitation. Future research investigating international stakeholder perceptions
ought to include additional data sources, such as analysis of policy documents. Similarly, the viewpoints
expressed represent only a small portion of the stakeholders working to promote inclusive education globally.
Future research would benefit from increasing the diversity of perspectives shared, including those working for
governments, NGOs, and in local schools. Moreover, focus groups provide a limited perspective and would
benefit from in-depth observations of inclusive education in action. Finally, future focus groups and observations
should include students and adults with disabilities, along with family members, as participants, as these
perspectives were largely absent in this study.
Implications for Policy and Practice
Findings from the current study provide a variety of implications for policy and practice, each of which must be
interpreted within the context of the limitations of the present study. Three policy implications are considered
here. First, responses from the focus group highlight the need to specifically include students with IDD in policy
documents referencing inclusive education. Without such a direct reference to include this population, their
continued exclusion from school, and school inclusion, is at risk. Second, policies must reflect contextual factors
at the local, state, and national levels. Simply copying existing, albeit well-crafted, policies from one nation or
context to another jeopardizes the ability to implement the policy given local cultural norms and practices.
Finally, policy "in the books" must better reflect policy "in practice." In other words, written policies should be
enacted in real schools, in consideration of the current education practices, resources, and expectations of the
setting. When written policies are dramatically out of touch with current practices or expectations, professionals
on the front-line of service delivery may continue to create different, less-inclusive policy by their daily actions
and decisions (Lipsky, 2010).
We further consider two practice implications of the current study. First, advocates promoting inclusive education
must be cognizant of their role and place as an outsider. That is, advocates must recognize any effects of their
positions and ideologies, including how these match, or fail to match, local cultural norms, practices, and
ideologies. Supporting local capacity to encourage inclusive practice is essential. Second, advocates working for
inclusive education would benefit from a focus on sustainable, reciprocal partnerships (Darling, Dukes, & Hall,
2016). As described by participants in this study, many inclusive education endeavors risk being short-term pilot
programs supported by outside groups without a clear focus on sustainability. Engaging local communities to
enter partnerships that center reciprocity, sustainability, and building of local capacity is thus a potentially useful
step in disrupting this trend.
Conclusion
To continue to ensure the development and sustainability of inclusive education for students with IDD at a global
level, recognition of the factors contributing to inclusive education, along with strategies and potential barriers to

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its implementation, are needed. The focus group research described here offers preliminary evidence that can be
used to promote inclusive education across the globe, with specific structures and strategies for stakeholders to
consider. We hope this study will support the continued efforts of international inclusive education advocates and
those taking up this effort so students with IDD, and all who are currently excluded from schools, might receive
quality and equitable inclusive education.
Sidebar
Received 7/1/2018, accepted 8/1/2018.
Authors:
Jennifer A. Kurth, Amanda L. Miller, Samantha Gross Toews, and James R. Thompson, University of Kansas;
Monica Cortes, Colombia Coordinadora Red de Familias por el Cambio; Mukunda Hari Dahal, National Association
of Intellectual Disabled & Parents; Ines E. de Escallon, Inclusion International; Paula Frederica Hunt, Disability,
Education & Development; Gordon Porter, Inclusive Education Canada; Diane Richler, Inclusion International;
Indiana Fonseca, Asociación Nicaragüense para la Integracion Comunitaria, ASNIC; Ruchi Singh, World Bank
Group; Jan Siska, Charles University; Rolando Jr. Villamero, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, UNICEF Kenya;
and Fatma Wangare, Kenya Association of Intellectually Handicapped.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jennifer A. Kurth, University of Kansas, 1122
West Campus Road, Joseph R. Pearson Hall Room 241, Lawrence, KS 66045 (email: jkurth@ku.edu).
Chaque enfant a le droit a l'education, y compris les enfants presentant des incapacites. Les resultats des
recherches a travers le monde ont montre les avantages de l'education inclusive, et des reglements permettant
de fournir une education accessible et inclusive peuvent egalement etre trouves dans les politiques nationales et
les accords internationaux. Cet article explore les perspectives de 11 experts internationaux sur l'etat de
l'education inclusive dans des pays des cinq continents. Des experts ont participe a une discussion de groupe au
17e congres mondial annuel d'inclusion internationale de 2018, a Birmingham, au Royaume-Uni. Les participants
ont echange sur les multiples facteurs influencant les pratiques educatives inclusives. En se basant sur leurs
experiences, les participants ont egalement discute de strategies jugees efficaces ou inefficaces en fonction de
divers elements contextuels. Les implications pour les politiques, la recherche et la pratique sont discutees.
La traduction des resumes en français a ete coordonnée par AAIDD Chapitre Quebec avec la collaboration de
Caroline Faust, Amelie Terroux, Karen Rutt, Carole Legaré, Genevieve Lord, Alexandrine Martineau-Gagne,
Marie-Josee Leclerc et Diane Morin.
"AAIDD Quebec Chapter" has coordinated the French translation of the abstracts in collaboration with Caroline
Faust, Amelie Terroux, Karen Rutt, Carole Legare, Genevieve Lord, Alexandrine Martineau-Gagne, Marie-Josee
Leclerc, and Diane Morin.
Todos los niños tienen derecho a una educacion, incluidos los niños con discapacidad. Los resultados de
investigaciones de todo el mundo han demostrado los beneficios de la educacion inclusiva, y los mandatos para
brindar una educacion accesible e inclusiva también se pueden encontrar en las políticas nacionales y en los
acuerdos internacionales. Este artículo explora las perspectivas de 11 expertos internacionales sobre el estado
de la educacion inclusiva en países de 5 continentes. Los expertos participaron en una discusion de grupos
focales en el 17° Congreso Mundial Anual 2018 de Inclusion International en Birmingham, Reino Unido. Los
participantes compartieron factores multifaceticos que impactan las practicas educativas inclusivas. Sobre la
base de sus experiencias, los participantes tambien discutieron estrategias que se consideraron efectivas o

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ineficaces segun diversos elementos contextuales. Se discuten las implicaciones para la política, la investigacion
y la practica.
La traducción de los resúmenes al español ha sido coordinada por el Departamento de Diversidad e Inclusividad
Educativa de la Universidad Catolica del Maule, Talca, Chile. Con la colaboracion de Constanza Sepulveda-
Hernandez, Beatriz Mendoza-Albornoz, Palmenia Pinochet-Quiroz, Daniela Ibarra-SepMveda, Claudio Ulloa-
Yevenes, Manuel Monzalve-Macaya y Juan Lagos-Luciano.
The translation into Spanish has been coordinated by the Department of Diversity and Educational Inclusion of
Catholic University of Maule, Talca, Chile; with the colaboration of Constanza SeptUveda-Hernández, Beatriz
Mendoza-Albornoz, Nicole Abdala-Rebolledo, Palmenia Pinochet-Quiroz, Daniela Ibarra-Sepiilveda, Claudio Ulloa-
Yevenes, Manuel Monzalve-Macaya and Juan Lagos-Luciano.
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Copyright American Association of Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Dec 2018
Details
Subject Teaching;
Research;

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Cultural organizations;
Pedagogy;
Curricula;
Teacher education;
Disabled students;
Disabled people;
Developmental disabilities;
Disabled children;
Ecosystems;
Disability;
System theory;
Schools;
International agreements;
Special education;
Access to education;
Children & youth;
Learning
Location Canada; France; Europe; Switzerland
Company / organization Name: International Bank for Reconstruction & Development--World Bank
NAICS: 928120;
Name: United Nations Educational Scientific & Cultural Organization

NAICS: 928120;
Name: United Nations--UN

NAICS: 928120
Title Inclusive Education: Perspectives on Implementation and

Practice From International Experts
Alternate title L'education inclusive : perspectives sur la mise en œuvre et

les pratiques selon des experts internationaux; Educación
Inclusiva: Perspectivas de Implementación y Práctica de
Expertos Internacionales
Author Kurth, Jennifer A; Miller, Amanda L;

Toews, Samantha Gross; Thompson, James R;
Cortés, Mónica; Dahal, Mukunda Hari; de Escallón, Inés E;
Hunt, Paula Frederica; Porter, Gordon; Richler, Diane;
Fonseca, Indiana; Singh, Ruchi; Šiška, Jan;

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Villamero, Rolando Jr; Wangare, Fatma
Publication title Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; Washington
Volume 56
Issue 6
Pages 471-485,495-496,498-499
Publication date Dec 2018
Publisher American Association of Intellectual & Developmental

Disabilities

Medical Sciences--Psychiatry And Neurology
ISSN 19349491
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-56.6.471

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accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright American Association of Intellectual &

Developmental Disabilities Dec 2018

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document 4 of 23
OPEN ACCESS
Psychological Assessment in Special Education in the Perspective

of Inclusive Education
Anache, A. A. (2018). Psychological assessment in special education in the perspective of inclusive education.
Psicologia : Ciencia e Profissao, 38, 60-73. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-3703000208800
Abstract
This paper has as main objective to present propositions about the process of psychological assessment of
individuals with intellectual disability using the historical-cultural perspective, considering the previous studies
carried out in this field. To that end, an academic essay was designed to present and discuss the evaluation
processes in the historical-cultural perspective, based on the authors with this theoretical affiliation classic
books, papers published in peer-reviewed journals of the area and related areas. Thus, we organize this text in
two main topics: the first presents the theoretical elements assumed in this study and the second refers to the
propositions for performing the psychological assessment of individuals with intellectual disability, characterizing
it as an evaluation-intervention aligned with three principles of the instrumental method proposed by Vygotski
(1996), namely: 1) analysis of the process and not of the object; 2) explanatory and non-descriptive analysis;
and 3) the genetic analysis of the development process of the individual to construct explanations about their
psychological dynamics.
Este artigo tem como principal objetivo apresentar proposições sobre o processo de avaliação psicológica de
indivíduos com deficiência intelectual na perspectiva histórico-cultural, considerando as pesquisas realizadas
neste campo. Para esse fim, optou-se em realizar um ensaio acadêmico que visa apresentar e discutir os
processos avaliativos na perspectiva histórico-cultural, baseado em livros clássicos dos autores com essa
afiliação teórica, artigos publicados em periódicos científicos da área e áreas afins os quais foram balizados com
a nossa experiência profissional. Destarte, organizamos este texto em dois eixos temáticos, sendo que o
primeiro apresenta os elementos teóricos assumidos neste estudo e o segundo, referem-se às proposições para
realização da avaliação psicológica de indivíduos com deficiência intelectual, caracterizando-a como avaliação-
intervenção, alinha-se com três princípios do método instrumental proposto por Vygotski (1996), a saber: 1)
análise do processo e não do objeto; 2) análise explicativa e não descritiva; e 2) a análise genética, do processo
de desenvolvimento do indivíduo para construir explicações sobre a sua dinâmica psicológica.
Este artículo tiene como principal objetivo presentar proposiciones sobre el proceso de evaluación psicológica de
individuos con discapacidad intelectual en la perspectiva histórico-cultural, considerando las investigaciones
realizadas en este campo.. Para este fin, se optó en realizar un ensayo académico que busca presentar y discutir
los procesos de evaluación en la perspectiva histórico-cultural, basado en libros clásicos de los autores con esa
afiliación teórica, artículos publicados en revistas científicas del área y áreas afines, con nuestra experiencia
profesional.. De este modo, organizamos este texto en dos ejes temáticos, siendo que el primero presenta los
elementos teóricos asumidos en este estudio y el segundo, se refiere a las proposiciones para la realización de la
evaluación psicológica de individuos con discapacidad intelectual, caracterizándola como evaluación-intervención,
que se alinea con tres principios del método instrumental propuesto por Vygotski (1996), a saber: 1) análisis del
proceso y no del objeto; 2) análisis explicativo y no descriptivo; y 2) análisis genético del proceso de desarrollo
del individuo para construir explicaciones sobre su dinámica psicológica.

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Full Text
Introdução
Considerando que esta edição da Revista Ciência e Profissão é parte da agenda de comemoração dos 15 anos de
existência do Sistema de Avaliação Psicológica (Satepsi) do Conselho Federal de Psicologia (CFP), a qual tivemos
a honra de acompanhar desde sua instalação até os dias atuais, entendemos como oportuno apresentar as
nossas contribuições sobre os impactos deste Sistema na proposição da avaliação psicológica destinada às
pessoas que apresentam deficiências, mais especificamente àquelas que apresentam deficiência intelectual.
Desde a década de 1980, os processos avaliativos e os laudos que deles depreendem têm sido alvo de críticas,
dentre as quais se destacaram que eles discriminam e excluem os indivíduos, que os métodos empregados não
são adequados para o intento, sobretudo para compreender as suas condições de aprendizagem. Salazar
(1996), Patto (1997), Anache (1997), Souza (2000), Machado (2002),
As pesquisas que realizamos sobre o uso da avaliação psicológica no contexto da educação especial, que visava
realizar o encaminhamento de estudantes que estavam em situação de dificuldades de aprendizagem e
experimentando vários anos de repetência, terminavam sendo encaminhados para os serviços de Educação
Especial1, dentre os mais conhecidos na década de 1990 eram as classes especiais e as salas de recursos. O
resultado deste trabalho, de forma surpreendente, demonstrou que não era especificamente a avaliação em si
que discriminava as crianças, mas a forma pelo qual ela era conduzida, ou seja, a escolha, a aplicação, as
análises dos resultados e a produção dos resultados finais, os quais eram materializados em forma de relatórios.
Aliada a esta situação, participamos de vários movimentos deflagrados e conduzidos por profissionais que
também apresentavam as suas críticas aos modelos classificatórios dos processos avaliativos, quase que
exclusivamente baseados em testes psicológicos, os quais na época não eram considerados válidos para a
população brasileira (Anache, 1997, 2008, 2012). Essa situação era mais delicada quando se tratava de pessoas
com deficiência intelectual, em decorrência das práticas aligeiradas, baseadas em julgamentos fundamentados
na perspectiva dos déficits. Somavam-se a isso, as formas de interpretação baseados na perspectiva
interacionista, o qual compreendido na época sob a lógica instrumental empregavam-se as provas piagetianas
para avaliar o nível de desenvolvimento da criança, contrariando os pressupostos teóricos de Jean Piaget, ou
seja, essas provas eram transformadas em testes.
As críticas relacionadas à avaliação no contexto educacional se avolumavam tanto por parte dos pesquisadores
Patto (1997), Anache (1997), Souza (2000) e Machado (2002), integrados à associações científicas e pelo
Sistema Conselhos Federal de Psicologia, resultando em uma força tarefa para promover estudos e pesquisas
sobre os instrumentos de avaliação, dentre os quais se destacaram os testes psicológicos. Assim, em 2003 foi
criado o Satepsi, e a Resolução CFP n° 002/2003 definiu e regulamentou o uso, a elaboração e a comercialização
de testes psicológicos, revogando a Resolução CFP n° 025/2001.
Estas ações impactaram a categoria e provocaram maiores investimentos na área da avaliação psicológica,
considerando os seus contextos e os seus propósitos (Anache, & Correa, 2010). No entanto, Santos, Anache e
Santana (2015) realizaram investigação metacientífica das publicações nacionais do período de 2003 a 2012
sobre avaliação psicológica e encontraram 696 artigos obtidos por meio das indexadoras Index-Psi, Pepsic, Lilacs
e SciELO. Eles concluíram que:

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de 2003 a 2008 e sua subsequente desaceleração nas publicações; b) a alta concentração de produção no
sudeste do país; c) a predominância dos estudos empíricos para o desenvolvimento de instrumentos; d) o foco
nos campos da Psicologia Clínica, Psicologia da Saúde e Psicologia Escolar; e e) a ausência de trabalhos que
exponham a articulação e integração de dados no processo avaliativo (p. 557).
Mais recentemente, até junho de 2018 foram acessados com o descritor de busca “Avaliação Psicológica” 6.157
trabalhos registrados no Banco de Teses e Dissertações da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível
Superior (Capes), sendo que com o descritor “avaliação psicológica” da deficiência intelectual encontramos 10
trabalhos registrados, o que consideramos ainda incipiente.
De todo modos observam-se o crescente movimento da categoria, representada pelo CFP e pelas Associações
Científicas para tornar a avaliação psicológica alinhada com os princípios dos Direitos Humanos, e, sobretudo,
inclusiva em todos os segmentos em que ela se insere, conforme o disposto na Resolução CFP n° 009/2018.
Neste percurso, os investimentos para construção de propostas de avaliação psicológica de indivíduo que
apresenta deficiência intelectual ainda tem sido desafiadora, tanto no que se refere às características do público,
quanto às dificuldades de encontrar métodos e técnicas adequadas para o intento. Sobre isso, lembramos que o
conceito de deficiência pode adquirir várias compreensões, dentre as quais se destacou a versão patologizante,
apoiada exclusivamente em explicações biológicas exaradas pelos diagnósticos médicos-psiquiátricos –
hegemônicos no âmbito da história da Educação Especial brasileira (Kuhnen, 2017).
De todo modo, os processos avaliativos deste público e os diagnósticos que deles depreendem ainda tem sido
um assunto que deveria ser mais estudado, conforme demonstrou o estudo de revisão de literatura realizado por
Tezzele (2017) que realizou um balanço das produções acadêmicas com sobre a deficiência intelectual de1993 a
2015. Embora essa autora tenha encontrado maior concentração de trabalhos sobre o diagnóstico na área de
saúde e sobre a escolarização na área de educação e Psicologia, informou que o tema “diagnóstico da deficiência
intelectual” foi abordado por um trabalho, o que lhe surpreendeu, por ser um tema polêmico na área.
Concordamos com Tezzele (2017), pois desde a defesa da nossa tese de doutorado em 1997, estamos
acompanhando as produções neste campo de referência e observamos que esta situação se agudizou.
A maioria das críticas em torno dos processos avaliativos partiu da perspectiva histórico-cultural, baseadas nos
estudos de Vygotski (1996; 1997) e Luria (1981, 1991) os quais buscaram construir subsídios para avançar na
perspectiva da avaliação-intervenção (Aguiar, 2015; Anache, 1997; 2012; Anache, & Luz, 2014; Anache, &
Nuernberg, 2015; Facci, & Souza, 2014; Lessa, 2014). Registre-se que nesta área, por ser interdisciplinar, é
possível encontrar trabalhos que alinham seus campos de conhecimento neste contexto, como é o caso da
Psicologia.
Se retomarmos a história da Educação Especial, a Psicologia sempre esteve pressente com o propósito de
identificar e posteriormente oferecer conhecimentos sobre as características dos processos mentais de indivíduos
com deficiência intelectual, e contribuiu sobremaneira para produção de concepções conceituais a respeito deste
público nas políticas educacionais brasileiras (Jannuzzi, 2004). Ao fazermos uma retrospectiva, acompanhando o
as contribuições de (Kuhnen, 2017), observou-se que os estudiosos desta área também participaram das críticas
sobre as concepções de deficiências nas políticas nacionais desde 2000, denunciando, o seu caráter organicista e
psicologizante de algumas correntes teóricas predominantes neste campo, e propunham o conceito de
deficiência como expressão da “[…] diversidade cultural, dicotomizando a relação entre biológico e social ao
criticar a medicina. Contraditoriamente, utilizavam-se da medicina para fazer o diagnóstico e o encaminhamento
para o atendimento educacional especializado” (Kuhnen, 2017, p. 341).

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Essa crítica foi realizada em um contexto de disputas político-ideológica em uma agenda de proposituras
alinhadas com políticas neoliberais2, e com isso, a deficiência continuava […] “sendo definida em relação a
sujeitos que desviam para mais e para menos em termos de padrões físico, social, comportamental e que
precisam de serviços especializados” (Kuhnen, 2017, p. 341). Assim, a Psicologia e a pedagogia se articulavam
como o médico-psiquiátrico desde o início do século XX, participando da criação dos serviços de saúde escolar.
Estes aspectos demonstram os desafios que encontramos nos processos avaliativos de indivíduos com
deficiências intelectuais, sobretudo as consideradas mais severas.
Embora que as recomendações da Associação Americana de Deficiência Intelectual e Desenvolvimento (AAIDD)

represente avanço ao reconhecer os múltiplos fatores determinantes da deficiência intelectual, sugerem um
conjunto de instrumentos/testes para esta finalidade, os quais nem sempre podem ser aplicados para este
público, em decorrência das suas diversas características. Em tempo, esta Associação considera como deficiente
um indivíduo que apresentar déficit de inteligência (QI abaixo de 70), déficit em duas ou mais áreas do
comportamento adaptativo, e, a depender da etiologia, pode se manifestar até os 18 anos de idade. Assim, o
processo avaliativo deve ser realizado por meio da combinação de instrumentos psicométricos e outros métodos
de natureza qualitativa, evitando-se com isso, as inferências dos profissionais na elaboração das análises dos
resultados (AAIDD, 2010).
Ainda que se relativize o peso dos instrumentos psicométricos neste processo, as análises das informações ainda
se baseiam em resultados de desempenho das propostas de atividades que o indivíduo não conseguiu fazer,
conferindo-lhe o status de déficit em relação ao seu grupo de referência.
Diante do exposto, buscamos outros modos de construir informações sobre o indivíduo, que se encaminha na
perspectiva de subsidiar o seu processo de aprendizagem por meio da análise das atividades propostas em
contextos naturais ou em intervenções preparadas de acordo com as características de cada pessoa, visando
contribuir para o planejamento educacional prevendo os suportes necessários à sua educação. Para esse fim, a
perspectiva histórico-cultural tem sido referenciada para identificar as possibilidades de aprendizagens e as
funções psicológicas que nelas se implicam.
Ancorada nos ensinamentos de Vygotski entende-se a deficiência intelectual3, como um fenômeno que se
constitui na relação intricada entre o social e o biológico, rompendo com a perspectiva intelectualista que ainda
inspiram os laudos e pareceres4 da área. Assim, os estudos sobre a metodologia no referencial teórico citado
são relevantes por assumir o método dialético, o qual:
supõe o estudo do objeto em todas suas relações mediatas e, ante tudo, a revelação das relações substanciais,
as relações dos fenômenos e das regularidades, a análise do estudado e em desenvolvimento, o descobrimento
das contradições, a unidade da luta de contrários, o trânsito de quantidade em qualidade. O enfoque histórico é
necessário aos métodos da psicologia (Petrovsky, 1981, p. 112).
primeiro apresentará os elementos teóricos assumidos neste estudo, aliados à s produções acadêmicas que se
encaminharam sob este ponto de vista e a seguir, apresentaremos as proposições para realização da avaliação
psicológica de indivíduos com deficiência intelectual.

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Os fundamentos e desdobramentos dos estudos da deficiência intelectual da perspectiva histórico-

cultural
A preocupação desta abordagem não é diagnosticar a deficiência da pessoa, mas ao contrário, é produzir
conhecimentos sobre as suas características psicológicas em consonâncias com as condições sociais de seu
processo de desenvolvimento. Essa compreensão se baseia nos ensinamentos resultados dos estudos de
Vygotski, com referência aos textos reunidos na obra “Fundamentos de Defectologia” (1997) e também de Luria
(1981; 1991). Considerando os limites deste artigo, optamos em apresentar alguns princípios que sustentam a
construção da proposta de avaliação, os quais se destacam: a perspectiva social da deficiência e a observância
aos aspectos qualitativos implicados na constituição dos processos psicológicos superiores.
As pessoas percebem as suas dificuldades e limites na relação com o outro. (Vygostski, 1997). Certamente, o
autor está atribuindo importância nas condições concretas de vida, onde circulam valores e conhecimentos
fundamentados predominantemente na abordagem biologicista e quantitativista, a qual atribui maior valor na
performance do indivíduo, comparando-o ao seu grupo de referência. Assim, o nível de desenvolvimento atípico
e comparado com o nível de desenvolvimento típico.
No contraponto desta orientação, Vygotski (1997) foi enfático em afirmar que o indivíduo com deficiência se
organiza de formas adversas, a depender das suas condições concretas de vida. Não há linearidade na relação
entre os fatores externos e internos na formação dos processos psicológicos superiores. Portanto, entende-se
como relevante atentarmos para a situação social de desenvolvimento do indivíduo, pois ela é considerada como
ponto de partida para compreensão das relações (trocas) que se produzem no processo de desenvolvimento nas
diferentes etapas da vida.
No que tange aos processos avaliativos, concordamos com Mitjáns Martínez (2003, p. 80), quando afirmou que é
necessário:
Mudar o foco de análise da deficiência concreta para o sujeito como um todo, considerando não apenas seus
pontos fracos, mas suas características mais positivas, como fundamentado por Vygotsky (1989), permite
considerar em primeiro plano a análise de sua constituição subjetiva, ponto essencial, ao nosso modo de ver,
para compreender a suas potencialidades criativas e suas possibilidades de desenvolvimento.
Outro princípio relevante para avançarmos para a construção de avaliação dinâmica é a relação entre os
conceitos de defeito primário e secundário. O primeiro refere-se à natureza biológica desta característica e o
segundo é gerado a partir do impacto que o primeiro pode promover em seu contexto condições adequadas ou
inadequadas para a educação. Sobre isso, Vygotski ensinou que o desenvolvimento insuficiente das funções
psicológicas superiores, pode estar relacionado com as limitações impostas pelo meio em favorecer condições de
aprendizagem dos bens culturais disponíveis. Devido a isso, as dificuldades da criança acumulam-se, agravando
ainda mais esta situação, conforme os argumentos deste autor,
Nesta situação em que a criança se desenvolve tem recebido menos do que pôde, ninguém tem tentado vinculá-
la ao meio; e se a criança está pouco vinculada e de um modo fraco, com o grupo infantil, aqui podem surgir
complicações secundárias (Vygotski, 1924-1929/1989, p. 114).
Vygotski (1997) considerou relevantes os conceitos de compensação e supercompensação, por eles serem
necessários para movimentar recursos internos do indivíduo mediante a condição de sua deficiência,
considerando sempre as possibilidades que lhe são ofertadas na situação social de seu desenvolvimento. Essa
complexa teia de relações implicadas na constituição psíquica é fonte de energia que contribui para a superação

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das dificuldades que os limites biológicos estabelecem no curso da vida.
A partir dos fundamentos do materialismo histórico dialético, Vygotski (1997) se contrapôs à ideia de Alfred
Adler e definiu os conceitos de compensação e supercompensação, formulando a sua tese de que:
simultaneamente com a deficiência também estão dadas as tendências psicológicas de orientação oposta, estão
dadas as potencialidades compensatórias para superar a deficiência e que precisamente são estas as que saem
em primeiro plano no desenvolvimento da criança e devem ser incluídas no processo educativo como sua força
motriz. […] Crer que qualquer deficiência se compensará é tão ingênuo como pensar que qualquer enfermidade
termina indubitavelmente na recuperação. Principalmente necessitamos de critério e realismo na valorização,
sabemos que as tarefas da supercompensação de tais deficiências como a cegueira e a surdez são enormes,
enquanto que o fluxo compensatório é pobre e escasso; o caminho do desenvolvimento é extraordinariamente
difícil, mas, por isso, é tão mais importante conhecer a direção correta (Vygotski, 1997, p. 47).
Estudar o desenvolvimento de crianças com deficiência intelectual, denominada na época por Vygotski (1997) de
“retraso mental” foi por ele considerado um desafio, por considerar difícil definir a essência a origem e o curso
do desenvolvimento destes indivíduos, observando as leis que o regulam. Estas crianças adquirem
características qualitativamente peculiares, as quais devem ser tomadas como processos, e, que, portanto,
requerem a adoção de metodologias de análises que consigam captar o curso do movimento entre a condição
primária da deficiência e a superação de novas formações psicológicas que se originam. Sobre isso, o autor
alertou que a superação implica em colocar em ação vários recursos que depreendem da relação entre as
dificuldades impostas pela própria deficiência e os mecanismos acionados no processo de adaptação ativa do
indivíduo ao seu meio.
Assim, é necessário identificar quais são os aspectos psicológicos que trabalham a favor do desenvolvimento da
criança, para que as carências possam ser supridas por meio de investimentos educacionais adequados. Em
outros termos, é importante analisar as reações do indivíduo mediante as dificuldades pelas quais se depara, e
como se reestrutura para se equilibrar como um todo. É a criança que apresenta a deficiência que o interessa e
não a deficiência dessa criança, para saber quais são espaços que essa característica ocupa na sua constituição
de seu psiquismo. As ações compensatórias se apresentam no curso do processo de desenvolvimento, em
decorrência das relações que a criança vai estabelecendo com a sua cultura. Graças à plasticidade cerebral, as
funções psicológicas superiores, como memória, atenção, percepções, pensamento, consciência vão se
formando, movidas pelos processos de aprendizagens desde a formação dos primeiros hábitos até a atividade
consciente do homem, o qual é carregado de emoções gerado pelas diferentes formas de afetos. Arce Hai (2018,
p. 68) corroborou com esta ideia afirmando que “[…] a plasticidade cerebral torna possíveis nossas diferenças
culturais, que ganham corpo em respostas por vezes distintas ao aprendizado das áreas de conhecimento que
constituem o currículo escolar”.
O objetivo da avaliação psicológica no contexto educacional é promover informações relevantes sobre as

características dos movimentos das funções psicológicas engendradas nos processos de aprendizagens dos
indivíduos, promovendo com isso, a produção de metodologias adequadas para proporcionar condições para que
a educação (formal e informal) promova o seu desenvolvimento. Nessa perspectiva, a avaliação deve se
constituir como instrumento orientador sobre quais mediações (signos, símbolos e outros instrumentos) serão
necessárias para evitar as práticas que enclausuram o indivíduo na condição de sua condição orgânica.
Proposições para a realização da avaliação psicológica de indivíduos com deficiência intelectual
A avaliação psicológica na perspectiva histórico-cultural tem sido alvo de vários debates em decorrência das

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críticas que Vygostki (1997) e Vygostki e Luria (1996) realizaram no curso de suas investigações, dentre os
quais se destacaram aquelas relacionadas à psicometria empregada pelos psicólogos do seu tempo e também
pela redução deste processo a uma razão instrumental, na qual se detinha em identificar as lesões do
funcionamento cerebral. Não obstante, não podemos esquecer que na época a teoria da localização das funções
cerebrais estavam presentes e pautavam a maioria das investigações sobre as lesões que os indivíduos que se
tornavam deficientes em decorrências das guerras. Foi Luria (1981) que explicou que a função não pode ser
entendida como sendo resultado do funcionamento de uma área particular, mas como um sistema funcional
completo e complexo. Portanto, não se pode reduzir uma atividade cognitiva a poucos agrupamentos neuronais
específicos, ou seja, o objetivo é saber quais são as regiões do cérebro que estão atuando em conjunto para
construírem a atividade mental. A título de ilustração, Luria utilizou o exemplo de uma orquestra, a música
resulta da composição de vários instrumentos, que possuem tempo e lugar para participarem do concerto. Os
fenômenos psicológicos como atenção, memória, percepção decorrem da participação de diversas áreas
cerebrais, as quais atuando de forma “orquestrada” proporcionam a função requerida. Ao diferenciar a
localização de uma função e a localização de um sintoma especificamente a partir da análise de seus efeitos
secundários, Luria argumentou que:
A aceitação pelo neurólogo de que os transtornos nesses processos mais complicados se manifestam
principalmente nas lesões das zonas cerebrais delimitadas (por exemplo, os transtornos práxicos geralmente são
resultados de danos nas regiões parietais inferiores, os transtornos da fala receptiva em lesões das regiões
temporais superiores, enquanto que os transtornos da fala expressiva são vistos em lesões da zona inferior da
região frontal superior, no hemisfério esquerdo) acarretou na aceitação implícita da hipótese de que as funções
complexas estão localizadas nestas áreas delimitadas do córtex. Logo, dizer que a “localização de um sintoma”
não é o mesmo que a “localização de uma função” tinha uma influência mínima (Luria, 1981), p. 19-20,
destaques do autor).
Essa perspectiva requer que a avaliação psicológica de pessoas com deficiência intelectual avance para além dos
sintomas expressos na forma de comportamentos inadaptados, como sendo resultantes de zonas corticais
específicas e responsáveis exclusivamente de fenômenos psicológicos complexos que vem sendo desenvolvidos
ao longo da história, como a capacidade de compreensão das ações que envolvem o uso da linguagem e, por
conseguinte a fala e outras formas mais elaboradas de pensamento (Luria, 1991).
Entendemos que os processos psicológicos se constituem no movimento das relações estabelecidas no contexto
sociocultural, os quais não movidos por afetos e emoções, implicadas nas diferentes formas de linguagem,
conforme destacou González Rey (2012), pois ela é definidora da ação do sujeito5 ativo que expressam pelas
diferentes formas de linguagem decorrente das vivências. Assim, cada um constrói recursos para responder às
exigências sociais as quais estão expostos. Nesse sentido, não há como se apegar a um conjunto de regras
universais que podem de alguma maneira justificar um comportamento considerado fora dos padrões esperados
para a sociedade. Lembrando que todo processo avaliativo deve considerar a subjetividade dos envolvidos nele
implicadas. A subjetividade caracteriza-se pela constituição de sistemas simbólicos e de sentido subjetivo, e esse
se integra aos aspectos constitutivos da personalidade, como as vivências das situações que os sujeitos
enfrentam; portanto, aprende-se, como sistema, e não somente com o intelecto. Dito de outro modo, quando o
sujeito se envolve afetivamente em uma atividade, mobiliza emoções, simbolizações que se integram à história
individual, movimentando o sujeito para novas aprendizagens “[…] Assim, os sentidos subjetivos são
inseparáveis da complexidade da subjetividade do sujeito” (González Rey, 2006, p. 34). A subjetividade social da
escola, da família e da comunidade integra-se à subjetividade individual do sujeito que participa desses espaços,
e, nessa teia se integram e se constituem mutuamente. Portanto são nestes dois níveis que os sentidos
subjetivos são produzidos, integrando-se nas configurações subjetivas do sujeito. Em tempo, González Rey

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(2006; 2011; 2012) utiliza esse conceito com o objetivo de romper com a compreensão determinista de
personalidade, vez que ela é dinâmica, se mobiliza e se transforma por meio das vivências, e nesse movimento,
o sujeito produz novos sentidos subjetivos, agregando-os às configurações subjetivas existentes, os quais
produzem novas configurações. Portanto, a personalidade é entendida como uma configuração de configurações.
O pensamento é função de sentidos subjetivos e, dependendo das experiências vividas, pode impulsionar novas
aquisições e promover condições para a superação das dificuldades experimentadas ao longo da vida do sujeito.
Essa perspectiva exige mudanças nos encaminhamentos da avaliação, na medida em que valoriza as dimensões
afetivas implicadas na aprendizagem. Interessa saber como o indivíduo se organizou mediante a sua condição
que está na base da sua constituição. A nossa experiência nos permitiu afirmar que o desenvolvimento cultural
da pessoa com deficiência intelectual decorre da falta de investimentos em suas possibilidades de aprendizagem.
Muitas vezes elas recebem menos do que as suas capacidades lhes permitem, mantendo-se alijadas do grupo
(Anache, 2012).
Para construir uma avaliação psicológica no contexto educacional é preciso considerar a situação social do
desenvolvimento. Vygotski (1996, 1997) por ela representar o movimento de mudanças que ocorrem no
desenvolvimento psicológico durante um dado período. Esse recorte temporal deve ser compreendido em sua
dinâmica, a qual expressa a complexa trama entre a natureza/biológico e a criação/social.
Alinhada com três princípios do método instrumental proposto por Vygotski (1996), a saber: 1) análise do
processo e não do objeto; 2) análise explicativa e não descritiva; e 2) a análise genética, do processo de
desenvolvimento do indivíduo, construímos nossas proposições para a avaliação psicológica de indivíduos que
apresentam deficiência intelectual.
O método instrumental se caracteriza por ser um método histórico-genético que visa estudar a história do
comportamento. Este autor fez referência a ele em vários momentos de sua obra, dentre os quais se destacam
estudos sobre o desenvolvimento das funções psicológicas superiores (Vygotski, 1997). Mais recentemente,
Prestes, & Tunes (2018) escrevem sobre o método pedológico6, o qual foi utilizado por Vigostki (1997) para
estudar as crianças com deficiência intelectual.
A procura por explicações sobre as condições pela qual afetam as crianças é um longo processo de peregrinação,
o qual denuncia as dificuldades que as famílias ou responsáveis encontram no percurso. E quando encontram,
recebem informações aligeiradas, confirmando o já sabido – o atraso, a dificuldade, o não aprender, traduzidos
em um código pelos manuais de diagnósticos de transtornos e mesmo de doenças. Não obstante, reduz o
indivíduo a essa condição, para receber algum tipo de tratamento ou mesmo educação especial.
Considerando que “o método é, ao mesmo tempo, pré-requisito e produto, o instrumento e o resultado do

estudo” (Vygotski, 1984, p. 74), os nossos materiais e métodos devem ser escolhidos com a finalidade de
pesquisar a história de vida do indivíduo, de sua família e dos lugares que ocupam no recorte espacial e
temporal, sendo fundamental identificar os valores culturais implicados na subjetividade deste grupo, os quais se
desenvolvem nas tramas das vivências do ser humano. Sobre isso, Anache e Luz (2014, p. 160) afirmaram que:
A reconstrução da história do sujeito com experiências vividas na condição de deficiente intelectual é recortada
por vários fragmentos, que se inicia com as dúvidas e silêncios sobre as suas reais capacidades de poder viver
com os limites impostos e, também, construídos ao longo de sua vida.
Vários instrumentos entram em cena, desde as entrevistas em suas formas variadas com os diversos
participantes da vida do sujeito (pai, mãe, irmãos avós, cuidadores, professores, profissionais etc.), e,

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sobretudo, a própria pessoa, considerando inclusive os seus limites para se comunicar. Nessas situações,
adaptamos os recursos como, por exemplo, materiais adaptados para idade e característica do sujeito, incluído,
quando for necessário o uso de tecnologia assistiva7. No processo de avaliação, recolhem-se documentos que
podem adensar as informações sobre o percurso do sujeito. Nesta abordagem construímos o processo avaliativo
de acordo com as características de cada situação, o qual se inspira na metodologia de estudo de caso.
Neste sentido, “os sintomas” são entendidos como sinais que movimentam o sujeito para buscar mecanismos
compensatórios, os quais são fundamentais para dar “visibilidade ao invisível”, eles não elementos que vem ser
compreendidos na lógica da unidade, ou seja, na parte está contido o todo e essa é parte constituinte dele. Góes
(2000) corroborou afirmando que a expressão dinâmico-causal é entidade mutável, sendo que de modo
dinâmico a causa pode se transformar em efeito e esse em causa.
Assim, cada sujeito que se apresenta à avaliação requer planejamentos específicos, pois se avalia a criança com
deficiência e não a deficiência da criança. Vigotski (1996) nos ensinou que: se estuda o processo educativo que
qualifica o sujeito em sua trajetória de vida com a finalidade de desvendar como se reestruturam as funções
naturais, considerando as características educacionais as quais ela participa. Ele afirmou que “[…] o método
instrumental procura oferecer uma interpretação acerca de como a criança realiza em seu processo educacional
o que a humanidade realizou no transcurso da longa história do trabalho” (Vigotski, 1996, p. 99).
O uso das ferramentas é um forte indicador das características do desenvolvimento psicológico do sujeito,
informando sobre a dinâmica do seu processo de aprendizagem, fundamental para a constituição da atividade
consciente. Em tempo, a a aprendizagem é um sistema complexo, o qual envolve a tríade cognição-afeto-vida
social. Portanto, o domínio dos bens produzidos pela humanidade (uso dos instrumentos) deve ser investigado
pelo profissional com a finalidade de descobrir os “[…] instrumentos que estão implicados e do estabelecimento
dos atos instrumentais” (Vigotski, 1996, p. 100). Os atos instrumentais referem-se à organização da psique
mediante aos elementos culturais as quais o sujeito está exposto, os quais dizem respeito à singularidade da sua
estrutura interna. Portanto, o ato instrumental fundamenta o método instrumental, pois o objeto/estímulo que
movimenta o sujeito para se organizar e construir respostas para a situação que lhe é apresentada, se configura
como ferramenta psicológica do ato instrumental (Vigotski, 1996).
Conduzimos os processos avaliativos identificando esta relação no curso da relação que vamos construindo com
os sujeitos envolvidos, o que significa que esse percurso merece investimentos de tempo e de procedimentos
que vão sendo construídos ao longo das intervenções, visando identificar o nível de desenvolvimento real, bem
como as possibilidades de aprendizagem do sujeito, por meio das pistas ofertadas no processo das atividades
proporcionadas. Nesse sentido, é possível compreender o valor que o conceito de Zona de Desenvolvimento
Iminente ocupa nesta abordagem, ‘pois ela possibilita por meio das relações dialógicas identificarem as
neoformações das funções psicológicas em andamento. Esse conhecimento favorece ao profissional, condições
para construção de estratégias adequadas para o nível de desenvolvimento psicológico do sujeito.
Para estudar as características psicológicas do sujeito valemo-nos da avaliação intervenção, por entender que os
sujeitos se expressam nas diferentes relações que estabelecem no curso de suas vidas, portanto, não há como
aplicar um único protocolo para todos, o que requer rigor metodológico na planificação de todas as etapas do
processo. Portanto, é importante considerar que ele se organiza de forma complexa, onde se integram períodos
críticos e períodos estáveis. Vygotski (1987, p. 151) o definiu como processo dialético, complexo, caracterizado
por múltipla periodicidade e desproporcionalidade das diferentes funções, por transformações qualitativas de
umas formas em outras, onde se entrelaçam e se implicam as relações entre os fatores externos e internos.
Portanto, ganha especial valor a análise das vivências como unidade de estudo da relação entre as configurações
subjetivas e o meio, permitindo ao profissional acessar os sentidos subjetivos que as experiências produziram no

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sujeito.
O sujeito deve ser estudado tanto do ponto de vista da sua constituição biológica, considerando-o como um
sistema complexo, quanto do ponto de vista da utilização dos processos psíquicos naturais e “[…] das formas
que essa utilização adota, procurando compreender como o homem maneja as propriedades naturais de seu
tecido cerebral e como controla os processos que nele ocorrem” (Vygotsky, 1996, p. 95). Por essa via, as
expressões comportamentais podem informar sobre as operações intelectuais, portanto, quando uma criança
brinca imitando um adulto, pode-se observar um conjunto orquestrado de funções psicológicas, como memória,
atenção, pensamento, afetos e ainda é possível prospectar sobre suas possibilidades de aprendizagem.
Os instrumentos devem ser adequados às possibilidades de manuseio do sujeito. No caso de crianças com
deficiências intelectuais mais graves, deve-se observar se ela não consegue usá-los pelos limites impostos pela
sua condição ou se não lhe foram oportunizadas para que possa fazê-lo. Como já afirmamos anteriormente, esta
é uma situação muito presente na vida destas pessoas.
O processo de diagnóstico deve observar a sua história e a plasticidade variável de suas capacidades, para
possibilitar-lhe um trabalho que venha levá-lo a superar o “defeito”, acionando o mecanismo de compensação
(Vygotski, 1996). Esse mecanismo permite ao sujeito reestruturar-se para compensar a deficiência natural
através de atividades, ou mesmo através do uso de sua função que (se ela for fraca) ou de funções substitutas
(se forem ausentes). Assim, é imprescindível que o psicólogo consiga descobrir junto com os professores,
crianças e familiares, como ele constrói e elabora os seus conhecimentos considerando as suas características
culturais e sociais. A triangulação desses elementos são subsídios para que o profissional possa construir
informações junto com os envolvidos. Nessa perspectiva o processo avaliativo é uma construção compartilhada.
Nesse referencial, é necessário que se estabeleça a relação entre os dados empíricos e os aportes teóricos que
sustentam as explicações.
Os informes vão sendo construídos no curso da ação do processo avaliativo, onde é possível, por meio da
relação dialógica promover e aprofundar discussões a respeito da condição do sujeito. Assim vamos promovendo
para que todos os envolvidos se constituam em sujeitos da ação, e assim, este processo se apresenta como ato
educativo, visando transformar a situação que ora se apresenta.
No contexto da educação especial é importante estreitar as relações com os professores, sobretudo com aqueles
que realizaram os encaminhamentos para a avaliação. Sugere-se pesquisar a criança da escola e a escola da
criança, e para isso é necessário que se incluam as versões das professoras, familiares e da própria criança e a
escola para que o diagnóstico psicológico não colabore para o aprofundamento do preconceito sobre as
impossibilidades de aprendizagem destes sujeitos. Anache (1997) já informava sobre a necessidade de
estreitamento do vínculo entre o psicólogo e a escola visando o acesso às informações sobre a participação de
crianças com deficiências nestes ambientes. Esse encaminhamento também foi referendado por Lessa (2014)
quando estudou as funções psicológicas superiores de estudantes com queixas escolares, inspirando-se no
método instrumental de Vygotski (1996) quando afirmou que se pode valer de experimentações e observações e
outros recursos para avaliar a memória, a atenção, a formação de conceitos, as expressões de pensamento etc.
na perspectiva de identificar o nível de desenvolvimento do sujeito e oferecer informações para aqueles que
atuam junto ao estudante sobre as condições de aprendizagem dela.
Anache (1997) alertou para que se tenham cuidados ao retirar o aluno da sala de aula, para que a criança não
seja exposta aos colegas de turma. Essa conduta exige dos psicólogos certa convivência na escola, o que poderá
ser planejado de acordo com as possibilidades do grupo. Esse contato poderia viabilizar a participação do mesmo
nas atividades da classe, para que ele possa visualizar a criança que se apresenta com dificuldades em interação

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com o seu grupo, bem como a interação do mesmo com ela.
A escuta da criança pode ser realizada em vários encontros individuais e em grupos, com o objetivo de o
psicólogo familiarizar-se com ela. Do conteúdo dessas reuniões, deverão ser extraídas as estratégias para o
planejamento do diagnóstico psicológico, ou seja, é necessário que esteja claro para eles: como, por que,
quando e qual instrumento utilizar. Nesse sentido, o psicólogo precisa ter conhecimentos técnicos para escolher
os instrumentos básicos para esse trabalho, não se limitando exclusivamente à aplicação de testes psicológicos.
Em tempo, esses instrumentos devem ser planejados de acordo com as possibilidades de cada sujeito, com o
objetivo de serem empregados como indutores, visando analisar a qualidade das formulações do pensamento
que motivou a expressão das repostas a eles.
Portanto, faz-se necessário construir formas de comunicação acessíveis para obter respostas às perguntas, o
qual requer acompanhamento, observações e registros das mais variadas situações. Essa prática possibilitará à
criança uma certa mobilização pelo fato de que uma atenção especial foi dedicada a ela, não deixando de ser
uma intervenção na sua dinâmica pessoal e consequentemente escolar e familiar. Collares, & Moysés (1997, p.
25) nos ensinaram que:
Esta forma de avaliação tem o sentido inverso dos testes padronizados, em que uma atividade previamente
estabelecida é a única forma aceita para avaliar uma determinada capacidade. Ao invés de a criança ter que
fazer o que o avaliador sabe avaliar, é o avaliador que tem que enfrentar o desafio de transformar em avaliação
o que a criança sabe e gosta de fazer. A objetividade de um teste não é maior do que a forma proposta, pois a
subjetividade se coloca, não pelo instrumento, mas pelo pesquisador enquanto homem, ser social.
Cada criança tem um estilo peculiar de se relacionar com as exigências impostas pelo grupo social, portanto, é
importante analisar suas reações em situações diferenciadas, como por exemplo, se ao executar uma tarefa, ela
agirá com perseverança, ou abandona-a com facilidade etc.
Neste processo, destacamos a importância do papel da família, ou seja, aquela que se responsabiliza pela
educação do sujeito, ou que ainda está envolvida com ele, no caso de adultos. Por meio das técnicas de
conversação, onde se estabelece a relação dialógica recuperam-se informações sobre a história da criança,
dados sobre o seu desenvolvimento, como ocorreram os primeiros aprendizados, as atividades que criança faz
em casa ou na rua, bem como qual é o significado da escola na vida da família e qual a reação dos pais diante
dos êxitos e fracassos do aluno. Nessa interação o psicólogo terá a oportunidade de entrar em contato com as
características de cada família. Portanto, o trabalho do psicólogo não termina com o retorno aos pais que seus
filhos precisam ou não de um atendimento especial, ele precisa ser contínuo, visando a integração da família no
processo de escolarização dessas crianças.
A análise das características da criança com ênfase em suas potencialidades de aprendizagem, o processo da
avaliação-intervenção poderá colaborar construção de estratégias educacionais junto com os profissionais
(psicólogos, professores do ensino regular e especial) para discutirem o planejamento e as formas de
intervenção para poderem adequá-los às necessidades da do sujeito. Nessa perspectiva, o psicólogo assume o
papel de agente que mobiliza, desmobiliza e organiza o trabalho dentro da escola, averiguando os determinantes
sociais da ação do sujeito, principalmente no caso dos alunos que apresentam dificuldades para escolarizar-se.
Seguindo esse raciocínio, é preciso conhecimento dos conteúdos que versam sobre o desenvolvimento e humano
e dos processos educativos e, sobretudo do método que orienta a sua práxis, nesse caso o método de estudo da
unidade de desenvolvimento.
Considerações finais

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Retomando algumas ideias já apresentadas neste artigo, a avaliação psicológica no contexto da educação
especial é um processo contínuo, interventivo com objetivo de analisar qualitativamente o que o sujeito é capaz
de fazer em diferentes espaços da vida social. Nesse percurso cabe ao profissional planificar este processo de
acordo com as características do sujeito.
Ainda que os sujeitos respondam de formas semelhantes ao mesmo estímulo, há uma complexa trama que
implicada na formulação da resposta, pois elas podem ser expressões de sentidos subjetivos adversos. Nessa
mesma linha de raciocínio, as denominadas estereotipias de comportamento (comportamentos repetitivos) que
são considerados típicos de indivíduos com deficiência, eles possuem uma lógica para aquele que o expressa,
portanto, deve ser estudado considerando-o a gênese da sua instalação. Pergunta-se o que o indivíduo quer
expressar com seus movimentos repetitivos. Por exemplo, no caso de uma criança com espectro autístico, os
rituais não autorregulatórios, portanto, merece investigação de seus nexos na situação social de seu
desenvolvimento. Rituais, devaneios e rodeios são atos de criação e possibilitam identificar o movimento da
subjetividade do sujeito.
A perspectiva histórico-cultural reconhece o indivíduo na sua condição e sujeito que aprende, e, por isso, o
método explicativo é adequado para valorizar as manifestações do sujeito mediante as intervenções, onde é
possível identificar os limites e as possibilidades de aprendizagem, observando as condições sociais que
aprofundam a situação de incapacidade do sujeito com deficiência intelectual. Assim, a avaliação psicológica é
processual, interventiva e relacional, opondo-se com o modelo classificatório e quantitativo, tradicional no campo
da Educação Especial.
A natureza qualitativa dos processos avaliativos permite construir explicações sobre a particularidade do
funcionamento psicológico e sua constituição subjetiva, a qual se desenvolve em meio às condições
socioculturais. Por isso é necessário pesquisar o contexto e a qualidade das relações estabelecidas, favorecendo
o desenvolvimento de estratégias que visem o aprofundamento das dificuldades decorrente das interações
sociais. O desafio está em estudar as funções psicológicas como sistema articulado no curso da ação do sujeito,
identificando as características mediante as diferentes formas de expressão no curso das intervenções.
A avaliação de sujeitos com deficiência intelectual requer maiores investimentos, pois se entende que há
necessidade de se construir metodologias específicas para cada situação, conferindo-lhe o status de pesquisa
científica, e como tal, requer aprofundamento da compreensão dos processos psicológicos e seus movimentos
constitutivos e suas formas de expressões.
Os investimentos do CFP para alinhar a avaliação psicológica na perspectiva dos Direitos Humanos são dignos de
nota, pois muito se avançou na elaboração de normativas para orientar o processo avaliativo considerando os
diversos contextos em que ela é empregada. Eles sinalizam para que novos trabalhos ocorram no campo da
Educação Especial na perspectiva da Educação Inclusiva, a qual requer estudos e pesquisas de métodos que
ofereçam conhecimentos sobre as características psicológicas dos sujeitos, os quais precisam ser considerados
partícipes deste processo, o que exigirá mudanças na formação profissional e na organização do sistema
educacional brasileiro.
Considerando que esta edição da Revista Ciência e Profissão é parte da agenda de comemoração dos 15 anos de
existência do Sistema de Avaliação Psicológica (Satepsi) do Conselho Federal de Psicologia (CFP), a qual tivemos
a honra de acompanhar desde sua instalação até os dias atuais, entendemos como oportuno apresentar as
nossas contribuições sobre os impactos deste Sistema na proposição da avaliação psicológica destinada às
pessoas que apresentam deficiências, mais especificamente àquelas que apresentam deficiência intelectual.

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Desde a década de 1980, os processos avaliativos e os laudos que deles depreendem têm sido alvo de críticas,
dentre as quais se destacaram que eles discriminam e excluem os indivíduos, que os métodos empregados não
são adequados para o intento, sobretudo para compreender as suas condições de aprendizagem. Salazar (1996),
Patto (1997) Anache (1997) Souza (2000) Machado (2002)
, , , ,
As pesquisas que realizamos sobre o uso da avaliação psicológica no contexto da educação especial, que visava
realizar o encaminhamento de estudantes que estavam em situação de dificuldades de aprendizagem e
experimentando vários anos de repetência, terminavam sendo encaminhados para os serviços de Educação
1
Especial , dentre os mais conhecidos na década de 1990 eram as classes especiais e as salas de recursos. O
resultado deste trabalho, de forma surpreendente, demonstrou que não era especificamente a avaliação em si
que discriminava as crianças, mas a forma pelo qual ela era conduzida, ou seja, a escolha, a aplicação, as
análises dos resultados e a produção dos resultados finais, os quais eram materializados em forma de relatórios.
Aliada a esta situação, participamos de vários movimentos deflagrados e conduzidos por profissionais que
também apresentavam as suas críticas aos modelos classificatórios dos processos avaliativos, quase que
exclusivamente baseados em testes psicológicos, os quais na época não eram considerados válidos para a
população brasileira (Anache, 1997, 2008, 2012). Essa situação era mais delicada quando se tratava de pessoas
com deficiência intelectual, em decorrência das práticas aligeiradas, baseadas em julgamentos fundamentados
na perspectiva dos déficits. Somavam-se a isso, as formas de interpretação baseados na perspectiva
interacionista, o qual compreendido na época sob a lógica instrumental empregavam-se as provas piagetianas
para avaliar o nível de desenvolvimento da criança, contrariando os pressupostos teóricos de Jean Piaget, ou
seja, essas provas eram transformadas em testes.
As críticas relacionadas à avaliação no contexto educacional se avolumavam tanto por parte dos pesquisadores
Patto (1997), Anache (1997), Souza (2000)
e Machado (2002), integrados à associações científicas e pelo Sistema
Conselhos Federal de Psicologia, resultando em uma força tarefa para promover estudos e pesquisas sobre os
instrumentos de avaliação, dentre os quais se destacaram os testes psicológicos. Assim, em 2003 foi criado o
Satepsi, e a Resolução CFP n° 002/2003 definiu e regulamentou o uso, a elaboração e a comercialização de testes
psicológicos, revogando a Resolução CFP n° 025/2001.
Estas ações impactaram a categoria e provocaram maiores investimentos na área da avaliação psicológica,
considerando os seus contextos e os seus propósitos (Anache, & Correa, 2010). No entanto, Santos, Anache e Santana
(2015) realizaram investigação metacientífica das publicações nacionais do período de 2003 a 2012 sobre
avaliação psicológica e encontraram 696 artigos obtidos por meio das indexadoras Index-Psi, Pepsic, Lilacs e
SciELO. Eles concluíram que:
de 2003 a 2008 e sua subsequente desaceleração nas publicações; b) a alta concentração de produção no
sudeste do país; c) a predominância dos estudos empíricos para o desenvolvimento de instrumentos; d) o foco
nos campos da Psicologia Clínica, Psicologia da Saúde e Psicologia Escolar; e e) a ausência de trabalhos que
exponham a articulação e integração de dados no processo avaliativo (p. 557).
Mais recentemente, até junho de 2018 foram acessados com o descritor de busca “Avaliação Psicológica” 6.157
trabalhos registrados no Banco de Teses e Dissertações da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível
Superior (Capes), sendo que com o descritor “avaliação psicológica” da deficiência intelectual encontramos 10
trabalhos registrados, o que consideramos ainda incipiente.

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De todo modos observam-se o crescente movimento da categoria, representada pelo CFP e pelas Associações
Científicas para tornar a avaliação psicológica alinhada com os princípios dos Direitos Humanos, e, sobretudo,
inclusiva em todos os segmentos em que ela se insere, conforme o disposto na Resolução CFP n° 009/2018.
Neste percurso, os investimentos para construção de propostas de avaliação psicológica de indivíduo que
apresenta deficiência intelectual ainda tem sido desafiadora, tanto no que se refere às características do público,
quanto às dificuldades de encontrar métodos e técnicas adequadas para o intento. Sobre isso, lembramos que o
conceito de deficiência pode adquirir várias compreensões, dentre as quais se destacou a versão patologizante,
apoiada exclusivamente em explicações biológicas exaradas pelos diagnósticos médicos-psiquiátricos –
hegemônicos no âmbito da história da Educação Especial brasileira (Kuhnen, 2017).
De todo modo, os processos avaliativos deste público e os diagnósticos que deles depreendem ainda tem sido
um assunto que deveria ser mais estudado, conforme demonstrou o estudo de revisão de literatura realizado por
Tezzele (2017)que realizou um balanço das produções acadêmicas com sobre a deficiência intelectual de1993 a
2015. Embora essa autora tenha encontrado maior concentração de trabalhos sobre o diagnóstico na área de
saúde e sobre a escolarização na área de educação e Psicologia, informou que o tema “diagnóstico da deficiência
intelectual” foi abordado por um trabalho, o que lhe surpreendeu, por ser um tema polêmico na área.
Concordamos com Tezzele (2017), pois desde a defesa da nossa tese de doutorado em 1997, estamos
acompanhando as produções neste campo de referência e observamos que esta situação se agudizou.
A maioria das críticas em torno dos processos avaliativos partiu da perspectiva histórico-cultural, baseadas nos
estudos de Vygotski (1996; 1997) e Luria (1981, 1991) os quais buscaram construir subsídios para avançar na
perspectiva da avaliação-intervenção (Aguiar, 2015; Anache, 1997; 2012; Anache, & Luz, 2014; Anache, & Nuernberg, 2015;
Facci, & Souza, 2014; Lessa, 2014).
Registre-se que nesta área, por ser interdisciplinar, é possível encontrar trabalhos
que alinham seus campos de conhecimento neste contexto, como é o caso da Psicologia.
Se retomarmos a história da Educação Especial, a Psicologia sempre esteve pressente com o propósito de
identificar e posteriormente oferecer conhecimentos sobre as características dos processos mentais de indivíduos
com deficiência intelectual, e contribuiu sobremaneira para produção de concepções conceituais a respeito deste
público nas políticas educacionais brasileiras (Jannuzzi, 2004). Ao fazermos uma retrospectiva, acompanhando o as
contribuições de (Kuhnen, 2017), observou-se que os estudiosos desta área também participaram das críticas
sobre as concepções de deficiências nas políticas nacionais desde 2000, denunciando, o seu caráter organicista e
psicologizante de algumas correntes teóricas predominantes neste campo, e propunham o conceito de
deficiência como expressão da “[…] diversidade cultural, dicotomizando a relação entre biológico e social ao
criticar a medicina. Contraditoriamente, utilizavam-se da medicina para fazer o diagnóstico e o encaminhamento
para o atendimento educacional especializado” (Kuhnen, 2017, p. 341).
Essa crítica foi realizada em um contexto de disputas político-ideológica em uma agenda de proposituras
2
alinhadas com políticas neoliberais , e com isso, a deficiência continuava […] “sendo definida em relação a
sujeitos que desviam para mais e para menos em termos de padrões físico, social, comportamental e que
precisam de serviços especializados” (Kuhnen, 2017, p. 341). Assim, a Psicologia e a pedagogia se articulavam
como o médico-psiquiátrico desde o início do século XX, participando da criação dos serviços de saúde escolar.
Estes aspectos demonstram os desafios que encontramos nos processos avaliativos de indivíduos com
deficiências intelectuais, sobretudo as consideradas mais severas.

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Embora que as recomendações da Associação Americana de Deficiência Intelectual e Desenvolvimento (AAIDD)

represente avanço ao reconhecer os múltiplos fatores determinantes da deficiência intelectual, sugerem um
conjunto de instrumentos/testes para esta finalidade, os quais nem sempre podem ser aplicados para este
público, em decorrência das suas diversas características. Em tempo, esta Associação considera como deficiente
um indivíduo que apresentar déficit de inteligência (QI abaixo de 70), déficit em duas ou mais áreas do
comportamento adaptativo, e, a depender da etiologia, pode se manifestar até os 18 anos de idade. Assim, o
processo avaliativo deve ser realizado por meio da combinação de instrumentos psicométricos e outros métodos
de natureza qualitativa, evitando-se com isso, as inferências dos profissionais na elaboração das análises dos
resultados (AAIDD, 2010).
Ainda que se relativize o peso dos instrumentos psicométricos neste processo, as análises das informações ainda
se baseiam em resultados de desempenho das propostas de atividades que o indivíduo não conseguiu fazer,
conferindo-lhe o status de déficit em relação ao seu grupo de referência.
Diante do exposto, buscamos outros modos de construir informações sobre o indivíduo, que se encaminha na
perspectiva de subsidiar o seu processo de aprendizagem por meio da análise das atividades propostas em
contextos naturais ou em intervenções preparadas de acordo com as características de cada pessoa, visando
contribuir para o planejamento educacional prevendo os suportes necessários à sua educação. Para esse fim, a
perspectiva histórico-cultural tem sido referenciada para identificar as possibilidades de aprendizagens e as
funções psicológicas que nelas se implicam.
3
Ancorada nos ensinamentos de Vygotski entende-se a deficiência intelectual , como um fenômeno que se
constitui na relação intricada entre o social e o biológico, rompendo com a perspectiva intelectualista que ainda
4
inspiram os laudos e pareceres da área. Assim, os estudos sobre a metodologia no referencial teórico citado são
relevantes por assumir o método dialético, o qual:
supõe o estudo do objeto em todas suas relações mediatas e, ante tudo, a revelação das relações substanciais,
as relações dos fenômenos e das regularidades, a análise do estudado e em desenvolvimento, o descobrimento
das contradições, a unidade da luta de contrários, o trânsito de quantidade em qualidade. O enfoque histórico é
necessário aos métodos da psicologia (Petrovsky, 1981, p. 112).
primeiro apresentará os elementos teóricos assumidos neste estudo, aliados à s produções acadêmicas que se
encaminharam sob este ponto de vista e a seguir, apresentaremos as proposições para realização da avaliação
psicológica de indivíduos com deficiência intelectual.
Os fundamentos e desdobramentos dos estudos da deficiência intelectual da perspectiva histórico-

cultural
A preocupação desta abordagem não é diagnosticar a deficiência da pessoa, mas ao contrário, é produzir
conhecimentos sobre as suas características psicológicas em consonâncias com as condições sociais de seu

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processo de desenvolvimento. Essa compreensão se baseia nos ensinamentos resultados dos estudos de
Vygotski, com referência aos textos reunidos na obra “Fundamentos de Defectologia” (1997) e também de Luria
(1981 1991
; ). Considerando os limites deste artigo, optamos em apresentar alguns princípios que sustentam a
construção da proposta de avaliação, os quais se destacam: a perspectiva social da deficiência e a observância
aos aspectos qualitativos implicados na constituição dos processos psicológicos superiores.
As pessoas percebem as suas dificuldades e limites na relação com o outro. (Vygostski, 1997). Certamente, o autor
está atribuindo importância nas condições concretas de vida, onde circulam valores e conhecimentos
fundamentados predominantemente na abordagem biologicista e quantitativista, a qual atribui maior valor na
performance do indivíduo, comparando-o ao seu grupo de referência. Assim, o nível de desenvolvimento atípico
e comparado com o nível de desenvolvimento típico.
No contraponto desta orientação, Vygotski (1997) foi enfático em afirmar que o indivíduo com deficiência se
organiza de formas adversas, a depender das suas condições concretas de vida. Não há linearidade na relação
entre os fatores externos e internos na formação dos processos psicológicos superiores. Portanto, entende-se
como relevante atentarmos para a situação social de desenvolvimento do indivíduo, pois ela é considerada como
ponto de partida para compreensão das relações (trocas) que se produzem no processo de desenvolvimento nas
diferentes etapas da vida.
No que tange aos processos avaliativos, concordamos com Mitjáns Martínez (2003, p. 80), quando afirmou que é
necessário:
Mudar o foco de análise da deficiência concreta para o sujeito como um todo, considerando não apenas seus
pontos fracos, mas suas características mais positivas, como fundamentado por Vygotsky (1989), permite
considerar em primeiro plano a análise de sua constituição subjetiva, ponto essencial, ao nosso modo de ver,
para compreender a suas potencialidades criativas e suas possibilidades de desenvolvimento.
Outro princípio relevante para avançarmos para a construção de avaliação dinâmica é a relação entre os
conceitos de defeito primário e secundário. O primeiro refere-se à natureza biológica desta característica e o
segundo é gerado a partir do impacto que o primeiro pode promover em seu contexto condições adequadas ou
inadequadas para a educação. Sobre isso, Vygotski ensinou que o desenvolvimento insuficiente das funções
psicológicas superiores, pode estar relacionado com as limitações impostas pelo meio em favorecer condições de
aprendizagem dos bens culturais disponíveis. Devido a isso, as dificuldades da criança acumulam-se, agravando
ainda mais esta situação, conforme os argumentos deste autor,
Nesta situação em que a criança se desenvolve tem recebido menos do que pôde, ninguém tem tentado vinculá-
la ao meio; e se a criança está pouco vinculada e de um modo fraco, com o grupo infantil, aqui podem surgir
complicações secundárias (Vygotski, 1924-1929/1989, p. 114).
Vygotski (1997) considerou relevantes os conceitos de compensação e supercompensação, por eles serem
necessários para movimentar recursos internos do indivíduo mediante a condição de sua deficiência,
considerando sempre as possibilidades que lhe são ofertadas na situação social de seu desenvolvimento. Essa
complexa teia de relações implicadas na constituição psíquica é fonte de energia que contribui para a superação
das dificuldades que os limites biológicos estabelecem no curso da vida.

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A partir dos fundamentos do materialismo histórico dialético, Vygotski (1997) se contrapôs à ideia de Alfred Adler e
definiu os conceitos de compensação e supercompensação, formulando a sua tese de que:
simultaneamente com a deficiência também estão dadas as tendências psicológicas de orientação oposta, estão
dadas as potencialidades compensatórias para superar a deficiência e que precisamente são estas as que saem
em primeiro plano no desenvolvimento da criança e devem ser incluídas no processo educativo como sua força
motriz. […] Crer que qualquer deficiência se compensará é tão ingênuo como pensar que qualquer enfermidade
termina indubitavelmente na recuperação. Principalmente necessitamos de critério e realismo na valorização,
sabemos que as tarefas da supercompensação de tais deficiências como a cegueira e a surdez são enormes,
enquanto que o fluxo compensatório é pobre e escasso; o caminho do desenvolvimento é extraordinariamente
difícil, mas, por isso, é tão mais importante conhecer a direção correta (Vygotski, 1997, p. 47).
Estudar o desenvolvimento de crianças com deficiência intelectual, denominada na época por Vygotski (1997) de
“retraso mental” foi por ele considerado um desafio, por considerar difícil definir a essência a origem e o curso
do desenvolvimento destes indivíduos, observando as leis que o regulam. Estas crianças adquirem
características qualitativamente peculiares, as quais devem ser tomadas como processos, e, que, portanto,
requerem a adoção de metodologias de análises que consigam captar o curso do movimento entre a condição
primária da deficiência e a superação de novas formações psicológicas que se originam. Sobre isso, o autor
alertou que a superação implica em colocar em ação vários recursos que depreendem da relação entre as
dificuldades impostas pela própria deficiência e os mecanismos acionados no processo de adaptação ativa do
indivíduo ao seu meio.
Assim, é necessário identificar quais são os aspectos psicológicos que trabalham a favor do desenvolvimento da
criança, para que as carências possam ser supridas por meio de investimentos educacionais adequados. Em
outros termos, é importante analisar as reações do indivíduo mediante as dificuldades pelas quais se depara, e
como se reestrutura para se equilibrar como um todo. É a criança que apresenta a deficiência que o interessa e
não a deficiência dessa criança, para saber quais são espaços que essa característica ocupa na sua constituição
de seu psiquismo. As ações compensatórias se apresentam no curso do processo de desenvolvimento, em
decorrência das relações que a criança vai estabelecendo com a sua cultura. Graças à plasticidade cerebral, as
funções psicológicas superiores, como memória, atenção, percepções, pensamento, consciência vão se
formando, movidas pelos processos de aprendizagens desde a formação dos primeiros hábitos até a atividade
consciente do homem, o qual é carregado de emoções gerado pelas diferentes formas de afetos. Arce Hai (2018, p.
68) corroborou com esta ideia afirmando que “[…] a plasticidade cerebral torna possíveis nossas diferenças
culturais, que ganham corpo em respostas por vezes distintas ao aprendizado das áreas de conhecimento que
constituem o currículo escolar”.
O objetivo da avaliação psicológica no contexto educacional é promover informações relevantes sobre as

características dos movimentos das funções psicológicas engendradas nos processos de aprendizagens dos
indivíduos, promovendo com isso, a produção de metodologias adequadas para proporcionar condições para que
a educação (formal e informal) promova o seu desenvolvimento. Nessa perspectiva, a avaliação deve se
constituir como instrumento orientador sobre quais mediações (signos, símbolos e outros instrumentos) serão
necessárias para evitar as práticas que enclausuram o indivíduo na condição de sua condição orgânica.
Proposições para a realização da avaliação psicológica de indivíduos com deficiência intelectual
A avaliação psicológica na perspectiva histórico-cultural tem sido alvo de vários debates em decorrência das

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críticas que Vygostki (1997) e Vygostki e Luria (1996) realizaram no curso de suas investigações, dentre os quais se
destacaram aquelas relacionadas à psicometria empregada pelos psicólogos do seu tempo e também pela
redução deste processo a uma razão instrumental, na qual se detinha em identificar as lesões do funcionamento
cerebral. Não obstante, não podemos esquecer que na época a teoria da localização das funções cerebrais
estavam presentes e pautavam a maioria das investigações sobre as lesões que os indivíduos que se tornavam
deficientes em decorrências das guerras. Foi Luria (1981) que explicou que a função não pode ser entendida como
sendo resultado do funcionamento de uma área particular, mas como um sistema funcional completo e
complexo. Portanto, não se pode reduzir uma atividade cognitiva a poucos agrupamentos neuronais específicos,
ou seja, o objetivo é saber quais são as regiões do cérebro que estão atuando em conjunto para construírem a
atividade mental. A título de ilustração, Luria utilizou o exemplo de uma orquestra, a música resulta da
composição de vários instrumentos, que possuem tempo e lugar para participarem do concerto. Os fenômenos
psicológicos como atenção, memória, percepção decorrem da participação de diversas áreas cerebrais, as quais
atuando de forma “orquestrada” proporcionam a função requerida. Ao diferenciar a localização de uma função e
a localização de um sintoma especificamente a partir da análise de seus efeitos secundários, Luria argumentou
que:
A aceitação pelo neurólogo de que os transtornos nesses processos mais complicados se manifestam
principalmente nas lesões das zonas cerebrais delimitadas (por exemplo, os transtornos práxicos geralmente são
resultados de danos nas regiões parietais inferiores, os transtornos da fala receptiva em lesões das regiões
temporais superiores, enquanto que os transtornos da fala expressiva são vistos em lesões da zona inferior da
região frontal superior, no hemisfério esquerdo) acarretou na aceitação implícita da hipótese de que as funções
complexas estão localizadas nestas áreas delimitadas do córtex. Logo, dizer que a “localização de um sintoma”
não é o mesmo que a “localização de uma função” tinha uma influência mínima (Luria, 1981), p. 19-20, destaques
do autor).
Essa perspectiva requer que a avaliação psicológica de pessoas com deficiência intelectual avance para além dos
sintomas expressos na forma de comportamentos inadaptados, como sendo resultantes de zonas corticais
específicas e responsáveis exclusivamente de fenômenos psicológicos complexos que vem sendo desenvolvidos
ao longo da história, como a capacidade de compreensão das ações que envolvem o uso da linguagem e, por
conseguinte a fala e outras formas mais elaboradas de pensamento (Luria, 1991).
Entendemos que os processos psicológicos se constituem no movimento das relações estabelecidas no contexto
sociocultural, os quais não movidos por afetos e emoções, implicadas nas diferentes formas de linguagem,
5
conforme destacou González Rey (2012), pois ela é definidora da ação do sujeito ativo que expressam pelas
diferentes formas de linguagem decorrente das vivências. Assim, cada um constrói recursos para responder às
exigências sociais as quais estão expostos. Nesse sentido, não há como se apegar a um conjunto de regras
universais que podem de alguma maneira justificar um comportamento considerado fora dos padrões esperados
para a sociedade. Lembrando que todo processo avaliativo deve considerar a subjetividade dos envolvidos nele
implicadas. A subjetividade caracteriza-se pela constituição de sistemas simbólicos e de sentido subjetivo, e esse
se integra aos aspectos constitutivos da personalidade, como as vivências das situações que os sujeitos
enfrentam; portanto, aprende-se, como sistema, e não somente com o intelecto. Dito de outro modo, quando o
sujeito se envolve afetivamente em uma atividade, mobiliza emoções, simbolizações que se integram à história
individual, movimentando o sujeito para novas aprendizagens “[…] Assim, os sentidos subjetivos são
inseparáveis da complexidade da subjetividade do sujeito” (González Rey, 2006, p. 34). A subjetividade social da
escola, da família e da comunidade integra-se à subjetividade individual do sujeito que participa desses espaços,
e, nessa teia se integram e se constituem mutuamente. Portanto são nestes dois níveis que os sentidos

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subjetivos são produzidos, integrando-se nas configurações subjetivas do sujeito. Em tempo, González Rey (2006;
2011; 2012) utiliza esse conceito com o objetivo de romper com a compreensão determinista de personalidade,
vez que ela é dinâmica, se mobiliza e se transforma por meio das vivências, e nesse movimento, o sujeito
produz novos sentidos subjetivos, agregando-os às configurações subjetivas existentes, os quais produzem
novas configurações. Portanto, a personalidade é entendida como uma configuração de configurações.
O pensamento é função de sentidos subjetivos e, dependendo das experiências vividas, pode impulsionar novas
aquisições e promover condições para a superação das dificuldades experimentadas ao longo da vida do sujeito.
Essa perspectiva exige mudanças nos encaminhamentos da avaliação, na medida em que valoriza as dimensões
afetivas implicadas na aprendizagem. Interessa saber como o indivíduo se organizou mediante a sua condição
que está na base da sua constituição. A nossa experiência nos permitiu afirmar que o desenvolvimento cultural
da pessoa com deficiência intelectual decorre da falta de investimentos em suas possibilidades de aprendizagem.
Muitas vezes elas recebem menos do que as suas capacidades lhes permitem, mantendo-se alijadas do grupo
(Anache, 2012).
Para construir uma avaliação psicológica no contexto educacional é preciso considerar a situação social do
desenvolvimento. Vygotski (1996, 1997) por ela representar o movimento de mudanças que ocorrem no
desenvolvimento psicológico durante um dado período. Esse recorte temporal deve ser compreendido em sua
dinâmica, a qual expressa a complexa trama entre a natureza/biológico e a criação/social.
Alinhada com três princípios do método instrumental proposto por Vygotski (1996), a saber: 1) análise do processo
e não do objeto; 2) análise explicativa e não descritiva; e 2) a análise genética, do processo de desenvolvimento
do indivíduo, construímos nossas proposições para a avaliação psicológica de indivíduos que apresentam
deficiência intelectual.
O método instrumental se caracteriza por ser um método histórico-genético que visa estudar a história do
comportamento. Este autor fez referência a ele em vários momentos de sua obra, dentre os quais se destacam
estudos sobre o desenvolvimento das funções psicológicas superiores (Vygotski, 1997). Mais recentemente, Prestes,
& Tunes (2018) 6
escrevem sobre o método pedológico , o qual foi utilizado por Vigostki (1997) para estudar as
crianças com deficiência intelectual.
A procura por explicações sobre as condições pela qual afetam as crianças é um longo processo de peregrinação,
o qual denuncia as dificuldades que as famílias ou responsáveis encontram no percurso. E quando encontram,
recebem informações aligeiradas, confirmando o já sabido – o atraso, a dificuldade, o não aprender, traduzidos
em um código pelos manuais de diagnósticos de transtornos e mesmo de doenças. Não obstante, reduz o
indivíduo a essa condição, para receber algum tipo de tratamento ou mesmo educação especial.
Considerando que “o método é, ao mesmo tempo, pré-requisito e produto, o instrumento e o resultado do

estudo” (Vygotski, 1984, p. 74), os nossos materiais e métodos devem ser escolhidos com a finalidade de
pesquisar a história de vida do indivíduo, de sua família e dos lugares que ocupam no recorte espacial e
temporal, sendo fundamental identificar os valores culturais implicados na subjetividade deste grupo, os quais se
desenvolvem nas tramas das vivências do ser humano. Sobre isso, Anache e Luz (2014, p. 160) afirmaram que:
A reconstrução da história do sujeito com experiências vividas na condição de deficiente intelectual é recortada
por vários fragmentos, que se inicia com as dúvidas e silêncios sobre as suas reais capacidades de poder viver

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com os limites impostos e, também, construídos ao longo de sua vida.
Vários instrumentos entram em cena, desde as entrevistas em suas formas variadas com os diversos
participantes da vida do sujeito (pai, mãe, irmãos avós, cuidadores, professores, profissionais etc.), e,
sobretudo, a própria pessoa, considerando inclusive os seus limites para se comunicar. Nessas situações,
adaptamos os recursos como, por exemplo, materiais adaptados para idade e característica do sujeito, incluído,
7
quando for necessário o uso de tecnologia assistiva . No processo de avaliação, recolhem-se documentos que
podem adensar as informações sobre o percurso do sujeito. Nesta abordagem construímos o processo avaliativo
de acordo com as características de cada situação, o qual se inspira na metodologia de estudo de caso.
Neste sentido, “os sintomas” são entendidos como sinais que movimentam o sujeito para buscar mecanismos
compensatórios, os quais são fundamentais para dar “visibilidade ao invisível”, eles não elementos que vem ser
compreendidos na lógica da unidade, ou seja, na parte está contido o todo e essa é parte constituinte dele. Góes
(2000)
corroborou afirmando que a expressão dinâmico-causal é entidade mutável, sendo que de modo dinâmico
a causa pode se transformar em efeito e esse em causa.
Assim, cada sujeito que se apresenta à avaliação requer planejamentos específicos, pois se avalia a criança com
deficiência e não a deficiência da criança. Vigotski (1996) nos ensinou que: se estuda o processo educativo que
qualifica o sujeito em sua trajetória de vida com a finalidade de desvendar como se reestruturam as funções
naturais, considerando as características educacionais as quais ela participa. Ele afirmou que “[…] o método
instrumental procura oferecer uma interpretação acerca de como a criança realiza em seu processo educacional
o que a humanidade realizou no transcurso da longa história do trabalho” (Vigotski, 1996, p. 99).
O uso das ferramentas é um forte indicador das características do desenvolvimento psicológico do sujeito,
informando sobre a dinâmica do seu processo de aprendizagem, fundamental para a constituição da atividade
consciente. Em tempo, a a aprendizagem é um sistema complexo, o qual envolve a tríade cognição-afeto-vida
social. Portanto, o domínio dos bens produzidos pela humanidade (uso dos instrumentos) deve ser investigado
pelo profissional com a finalidade de descobrir os “[…] instrumentos que estão implicados e do estabelecimento
dos atos instrumentais” (Vigotski, 1996, p. 100). Os atos instrumentais referem-se à organização da psique
mediante aos elementos culturais as quais o sujeito está exposto, os quais dizem respeito à singularidade da sua
estrutura interna. Portanto, o ato instrumental fundamenta o método instrumental, pois o objeto/estímulo que
movimenta o sujeito para se organizar e construir respostas para a situação que lhe é apresentada, se configura
como ferramenta psicológica do ato instrumental (Vigotski, 1996).
Conduzimos os processos avaliativos identificando esta relação no curso da relação que vamos construindo com
os sujeitos envolvidos, o que significa que esse percurso merece investimentos de tempo e de procedimentos
que vão sendo construídos ao longo das intervenções, visando identificar o nível de desenvolvimento real, bem
como as possibilidades de aprendizagem do sujeito, por meio das pistas ofertadas no processo das atividades
proporcionadas. Nesse sentido, é possível compreender o valor que o conceito de Zona de Desenvolvimento
Iminente ocupa nesta abordagem, ‘pois ela possibilita por meio das relações dialógicas identificarem as
neoformações das funções psicológicas em andamento. Esse conhecimento favorece ao profissional, condições
para construção de estratégias adequadas para o nível de desenvolvimento psicológico do sujeito.
Para estudar as características psicológicas do sujeito valemo-nos da avaliação intervenção, por entender que os
sujeitos se expressam nas diferentes relações que estabelecem no curso de suas vidas, portanto, não há como

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aplicar um único protocolo para todos, o que requer rigor metodológico na planificação de todas as etapas do
processo. Portanto, é importante considerar que ele se organiza de forma complexa, onde se integram períodos
críticos e períodos estáveis. Vygotski (1987, p. 151) o definiu como processo dialético, complexo, caracterizado por
múltipla periodicidade e desproporcionalidade das diferentes funções, por transformações qualitativas de umas
formas em outras, onde se entrelaçam e se implicam as relações entre os fatores externos e internos. Portanto,
ganha especial valor a análise das vivências como unidade de estudo da relação entre as configurações
subjetivas e o meio, permitindo ao profissional acessar os sentidos subjetivos que as experiências produziram no
sujeito.
O sujeito deve ser estudado tanto do ponto de vista da sua constituição biológica, considerando-o como um
sistema complexo, quanto do ponto de vista da utilização dos processos psíquicos naturais e “[…] das formas
que essa utilização adota, procurando compreender como o homem maneja as propriedades naturais de seu
tecido cerebral e como controla os processos que nele ocorrem” (Vygotsky, 1996, p. 95). Por essa via, as
expressões comportamentais podem informar sobre as operações intelectuais, portanto, quando uma criança
brinca imitando um adulto, pode-se observar um conjunto orquestrado de funções psicológicas, como memória,
atenção, pensamento, afetos e ainda é possível prospectar sobre suas possibilidades de aprendizagem.
Os instrumentos devem ser adequados às possibilidades de manuseio do sujeito. No caso de crianças com
deficiências intelectuais mais graves, deve-se observar se ela não consegue usá-los pelos limites impostos pela
sua condição ou se não lhe foram oportunizadas para que possa fazê-lo. Como já afirmamos anteriormente, esta
é uma situação muito presente na vida destas pessoas.
O processo de diagnóstico deve observar a sua história e a plasticidade variável de suas capacidades, para
possibilitar-lhe um trabalho que venha levá-lo a superar o “defeito”, acionando o mecanismo de compensação
(Vygotski, 1996). Esse mecanismo permite ao sujeito reestruturar-se para compensar a deficiência natural através
de atividades, ou mesmo através do uso de sua função que (se ela for fraca) ou de funções substitutas (se
forem ausentes). Assim, é imprescindível que o psicólogo consiga descobrir junto com os professores, crianças e
familiares, como ele constrói e elabora os seus conhecimentos considerando as suas características culturais e
sociais. A triangulação desses elementos são subsídios para que o profissional possa construir informações junto
com os envolvidos. Nessa perspectiva o processo avaliativo é uma construção compartilhada. Nesse referencial,
é necessário que se estabeleça a relação entre os dados empíricos e os aportes teóricos que sustentam as
explicações.
Os informes vão sendo construídos no curso da ação do processo avaliativo, onde é possível, por meio da
relação dialógica promover e aprofundar discussões a respeito da condição do sujeito. Assim vamos promovendo
para que todos os envolvidos se constituam em sujeitos da ação, e assim, este processo se apresenta como ato
educativo, visando transformar a situação que ora se apresenta.
No contexto da educação especial é importante estreitar as relações com os professores, sobretudo com aqueles
que realizaram os encaminhamentos para a avaliação. Sugere-se pesquisar a criança da escola e a escola da
criança, e para isso é necessário que se incluam as versões das professoras, familiares e da própria criança e a
escola para que o diagnóstico psicológico não colabore para o aprofundamento do preconceito sobre as
impossibilidades de aprendizagem destes sujeitos. Anache (1997) já informava sobre a necessidade de
estreitamento do vínculo entre o psicólogo e a escola visando o acesso às informações sobre a participação de
crianças com deficiências nestes ambientes. Esse encaminhamento também foi referendado por Lessa (2014)
quando estudou as funções psicológicas superiores de estudantes com queixas escolares, inspirando-se no

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método instrumental de Vygotski (1996) quando afirmou que se pode valer de experimentações e observações e
outros recursos para avaliar a memória, a atenção, a formação de conceitos, as expressões de pensamento etc.
na perspectiva de identificar o nível de desenvolvimento do sujeito e oferecer informações para aqueles que
atuam junto ao estudante sobre as condições de aprendizagem dela.
Anache (1997)alertou para que se tenham cuidados ao retirar o aluno da sala de aula, para que a criança não seja
exposta aos colegas de turma. Essa conduta exige dos psicólogos certa convivência na escola, o que poderá ser
planejado de acordo com as possibilidades do grupo. Esse contato poderia viabilizar a participação do mesmo
nas atividades da classe, para que ele possa visualizar a criança que se apresenta com dificuldades em interação
com o seu grupo, bem como a interação do mesmo com ela.
A escuta da criança pode ser realizada em vários encontros individuais e em grupos, com o objetivo de o
psicólogo familiarizar-se com ela. Do conteúdo dessas reuniões, deverão ser extraídas as estratégias para o
planejamento do diagnóstico psicológico, ou seja, é necessário que esteja claro para eles: como, por que,
quando e qual instrumento utilizar. Nesse sentido, o psicólogo precisa ter conhecimentos técnicos para escolher
os instrumentos básicos para esse trabalho, não se limitando exclusivamente à aplicação de testes psicológicos.
Em tempo, esses instrumentos devem ser planejados de acordo com as possibilidades de cada sujeito, com o
objetivo de serem empregados como indutores, visando analisar a qualidade das formulações do pensamento
que motivou a expressão das repostas a eles.
Portanto, faz-se necessário construir formas de comunicação acessíveis para obter respostas às perguntas, o
qual requer acompanhamento, observações e registros das mais variadas situações. Essa prática possibilitará à
criança uma certa mobilização pelo fato de que uma atenção especial foi dedicada a ela, não deixando de ser
uma intervenção na sua dinâmica pessoal e consequentemente escolar e familiar. Collares, & Moysés (1997, p.
25) nos ensinaram que:
Esta forma de avaliação tem o sentido inverso dos testes padronizados, em que uma atividade previamente
estabelecida é a única forma aceita para avaliar uma determinada capacidade. Ao invés de a criança ter que
fazer o que o avaliador sabe avaliar, é o avaliador que tem que enfrentar o desafio de transformar em avaliação
o que a criança sabe e gosta de fazer. A objetividade de um teste não é maior do que a forma proposta, pois a
subjetividade se coloca, não pelo instrumento, mas pelo pesquisador enquanto homem, ser social.
Cada criança tem um estilo peculiar de se relacionar com as exigências impostas pelo grupo social, portanto, é
importante analisar suas reações em situações diferenciadas, como por exemplo, se ao executar uma tarefa, ela
agirá com perseverança, ou abandona-a com facilidade etc.
Neste processo, destacamos a importância do papel da família, ou seja, aquela que se responsabiliza pela
educação do sujeito, ou que ainda está envolvida com ele, no caso de adultos. Por meio das técnicas de
conversação, onde se estabelece a relação dialógica recuperam-se informações sobre a história da criança,
dados sobre o seu desenvolvimento, como ocorreram os primeiros aprendizados, as atividades que criança faz
em casa ou na rua, bem como qual é o significado da escola na vida da família e qual a reação dos pais diante
dos êxitos e fracassos do aluno. Nessa interação o psicólogo terá a oportunidade de entrar em contato com as
características de cada família. Portanto, o trabalho do psicólogo não termina com o retorno aos pais que seus
filhos precisam ou não de um atendimento especial, ele precisa ser contínuo, visando a integração da família no
processo de escolarização dessas crianças.
A análise das características da criança com ênfase em suas potencialidades de aprendizagem, o processo da

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avaliação-intervenção poderá colaborar construção de estratégias educacionais junto com os profissionais

(psicólogos, professores do ensino regular e especial) para discutirem o planejamento e as formas de
intervenção para poderem adequá-los às necessidades da do sujeito. Nessa perspectiva, o psicólogo assume o
papel de agente que mobiliza, desmobiliza e organiza o trabalho dentro da escola, averiguando os determinantes
sociais da ação do sujeito, principalmente no caso dos alunos que apresentam dificuldades para escolarizar-se.
Seguindo esse raciocínio, é preciso conhecimento dos conteúdos que versam sobre o desenvolvimento e humano
e dos processos educativos e, sobretudo do método que orienta a sua práxis, nesse caso o método de estudo da
unidade de desenvolvimento.
Considerações finais
Retomando algumas ideias já apresentadas neste artigo, a avaliação psicológica no contexto da educação
especial é um processo contínuo, interventivo com objetivo de analisar qualitativamente o que o sujeito é capaz
de fazer em diferentes espaços da vida social. Nesse percurso cabe ao profissional planificar este processo de
acordo com as características do sujeito.
Ainda que os sujeitos respondam de formas semelhantes ao mesmo estímulo, há uma complexa trama que
implicada na formulação da resposta, pois elas podem ser expressões de sentidos subjetivos adversos. Nessa
mesma linha de raciocínio, as denominadas estereotipias de comportamento (comportamentos repetitivos) que
são considerados típicos de indivíduos com deficiência, eles possuem uma lógica para aquele que o expressa,
portanto, deve ser estudado considerando-o a gênese da sua instalação. Pergunta-se o que o indivíduo quer
expressar com seus movimentos repetitivos. Por exemplo, no caso de uma criança com espectro autístico, os
rituais não autorregulatórios, portanto, merece investigação de seus nexos na situação social de seu
desenvolvimento. Rituais, devaneios e rodeios são atos de criação e possibilitam identificar o movimento da
subjetividade do sujeito.
A perspectiva histórico-cultural reconhece o indivíduo na sua condição e sujeito que aprende, e, por isso, o
método explicativo é adequado para valorizar as manifestações do sujeito mediante as intervenções, onde é
possível identificar os limites e as possibilidades de aprendizagem, observando as condições sociais que
aprofundam a situação de incapacidade do sujeito com deficiência intelectual. Assim, a avaliação psicológica é
processual, interventiva e relacional, opondo-se com o modelo classificatório e quantitativo, tradicional no campo
da Educação Especial.
A natureza qualitativa dos processos avaliativos permite construir explicações sobre a particularidade do
funcionamento psicológico e sua constituição subjetiva, a qual se desenvolve em meio às condições
socioculturais. Por isso é necessário pesquisar o contexto e a qualidade das relações estabelecidas, favorecendo
o desenvolvimento de estratégias que visem o aprofundamento das dificuldades decorrente das interações
sociais. O desafio está em estudar as funções psicológicas como sistema articulado no curso da ação do sujeito,
identificando as características mediante as diferentes formas de expressão no curso das intervenções.
A avaliação de sujeitos com deficiência intelectual requer maiores investimentos, pois se entende que há
necessidade de se construir metodologias específicas para cada situação, conferindo-lhe o status de pesquisa
científica, e como tal, requer aprofundamento da compreensão dos processos psicológicos e seus movimentos
constitutivos e suas formas de expressões.
Os investimentos do CFP para alinhar a avaliação psicológica na perspectiva dos Direitos Humanos são dignos de
nota, pois muito se avançou na elaboração de normativas para orientar o processo avaliativo considerando os
diversos contextos em que ela é empregada. Eles sinalizam para que novos trabalhos ocorram no campo da

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Educação Especial na perspectiva da Educação Inclusiva, a qual requer estudos e pesquisas de métodos que
ofereçam conhecimentos sobre as características psicológicas dos sujeitos, os quais precisam ser considerados
partícipes deste processo, o que exigirá mudanças na formação profissional e na organização do sistema
educacional brasileiro.
1Educação Especial: A Política Nacional de Educação Especial na Perspectiva da Educação Inclusiva (2008)
conceitua a educação especial como sendo: “[…] uma modalidade de ensino que perpassa todos os níveis,
etapas e modalidades, realiza o atendimento educacional especializado, disponibiliza os recursos e serviços e
orienta quanto a sua utilização no processo de ensino e aprendizagem nas turmas comuns do ensino regular”
(BRASIL, 2008, p. 11).
2Neoliberalismo fundamenta-se no Liberalismo Econômico Clássico, o qual defende que o Estado deve ter
mínima participação nas atividades econômicas e sociais do país. Portanto a Educação deve se alinha com a lei
de mercado, onde o estudante passa a ser considerado um consumido de ensino.
3 Vygotsky (1997) usava o termo defectologia ao referir-se ao desenvolvimento incompleto.
4O conceito de laudo e parecer estão contidos na Resolução que trata de documentos escritos.
5O uso do termo “sujeito” refere-se ao ser ativo, relacional que se constitui na história de vida.
6Nas explicações de Prestes (2010), usando o Dicionário Houaiss, a palavra “pedologia”, etimologicamente, vem do
grego para fazer referência ao estudo sistemático da vida e do desenvolvimento das crianças. Ela informou que
este termo era proibido na antiga União Soviética, o que levou Luria a substituí-lo por Psicologia Infantil.
7Tecnologia Assistiva é considerada a área de conhecimento interdisciplinar, pois envolve várias áreas que
estudam as características e as especificidades de cada deficiência, devendo estar integrada à proposta
curricular da escola.
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© 2018. This work is licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en (the “License”).

Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of
the License.
Details
Identifier / keyword Psychological Assessment; Special Education;

Inclusive Education; Avaliação Psicológica;
Educação Especial; Educação Inclusiva;
Evaluación Psicológica; Educación Especial;
Educación Inclusiva
Title Psychological Assessment in Special Education in the

Perspective of Inclusive Education
Author Anache, Alexandra Ayach
Publication title Psicologia : Ciencia e Profissao; Brasilia
Volume 38
Issue special issue
Pages 60-73

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Publication date 2018
Section Artigos
Publisher Conselho Federal de Psicologia
Place of publication Brasilia
Country of publication Brazil, Brasilia
Publication subject Psychology
ISSN 14149893
Language of publication Portuguese
Publication history
Milestone dates 2018-07-20 (Recebido); 2018-08-07 (Aceito)
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-3703000208800

accountid=47253
Copyright © 2018. This work is licensed under

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en (the

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“License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and

conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the
terms of the License.

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document 5 of 23
A Case Study Examining the Challenges One Urban Catholic

School Faces to Provide Inclusive Education to Students with
Disabilities
Alternate title: A CASE STUDY EXAMINING THE CHALLENGES ONE URBAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL FACES TO
PROVIDE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION TO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Richter, D. M. (2018). A case study examining the challenges one urban catholic school faces to provide inclusive
education to students with disabilities (10929618). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
(2111293307). Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/2111293307?accountid=47253
Abstract
Schools all across the United States are challenged with meeting the diverse needs of students that enter their
classroom doors each year. While IDEA and its reauthorizations provide public schools with a legal framework to
locate, evaluate and provide educational services to students with diagnosed disabilities, the line becomes
blurred when students are enrolled in religiously affiliated schools. Child Find obligates the local educational
agency to identify and evaluate students with suspected disabilities in both the public school setting and in the
private school setting. While schools have a responsibility to plan for the integration of all students, including
students with disabilities, religious affiliated schools are also faced with financial constraints. The lack of special
education personnel, professional development, and teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education can become
obstacles to integrating students with special needs in the general education classroom. This qualitative atypical
case study investigated the challenges one urban Midwestern Catholic school faced in meeting the academic
and/or social emotional needs of students with suspected and/or diagnosed disabilities through the triangulation
of data sources. Through the analysis of the semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, review of
artifacts and field notes, several themes emerged. Findings indicated that teachers and related service providers
were faced daily with overwhelming academic and social emotional needs compounded by the number of English
language learners in their classrooms. Additionally, mutual trust and respect between the local educational
agency and the site school were barriers in terms of locating and evaluating students with suspected disabilities
and obtaining services under IDEA. Findings also revealed that while teachers indicated they understood the
overall meaning behind differentiated instruction and the implementation of instructional strategies for students
with suspected and/or diagnosed disabilities, two thirds of the classrooms observed did not post learning
objectives while one third of the classrooms lacked any type of visual support specifying classroom rules and
routines. Implications for practice and research include professional development focusing on the referral
process for students with suspected disabilities, interventions, universal instructional supports, and the
instructional process of differentiated instruction.
Alternate abstract:
Schools all across the United States are challenged with meeting the diverse needs of students that enter their
classroom doors each year. While IDEA and its reauthorizations provide public schools with a legal framework to
locate, evaluate and provide educational services to students with diagnosed disabilities, the line becomes
blurred when students are enrolled in religiously affiliated schools. Child Find obligates the local educational
agency to identify and evaluate students with suspected disabilities in both the public school setting and in the

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private school setting. While schools have a responsibility to plan for the integration of all students, including
students with disabilities, religious affiliated schools are also faced with financial constraints. The lack of special
education personnel, professional development, and teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education can become
obstacles to integrating students with special needs in the general education classroom. This qualitative atypical
case study investigated the challenges one urban Midwestern Catholic school faced in meeting the academic
and/or social emotional needs of students with suspected and/or diagnosed disabilities through the triangulation
of data sources. Through the analysis of the semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, review of
artifacts and field notes, several themes emerged. Findings indicated that teachers and related service providers
were faced daily with overwhelming academic and social emotional needs compounded by the number of English
language learners in their classrooms. Additionally, mutual trust and respect between the local educational
agency and the site school were barriers in terms of locating and evaluating students with suspected disabilities
and obtaining services under IDEA. Findings also revealed that while teachers indicated they understood the
overall meaning behind differentiated instruction and the implementation of instructional strategies for students
with suspected and/or diagnosed disabilities, two thirds of the classrooms observed did not post learning
objectives while one third of the classrooms lacked any type of visual support specifying classroom rules and
routines. Implications for practice and research include professional development focusing on the referral
process for students with suspected disabilities, interventions, universal instructional supports, and the
instructional process of differentiated instruction. Keywords: child find, IDEA, special needs, differentiated
instruction, religious affiliated schools
Details
Subject Elementary education;

Religious education;
Special education
Classification 0524: Elementary education

0527: Religious education
0529: Special education
Identifier / keyword Education; Child find; Differentiated instruction; Idea;

Inclusive education; Religious affiliated schools;
Special needs
Title A Case Study Examining the Challenges One Urban Catholic

School Faces to Provide Inclusive Education to Students with
Disabilities
Alternate title A CASE STUDY EXAMINING THE CHALLENGES ONE URBAN

CATHOLIC SCHOOL FACES TO PROVIDE INCLUSIVE
EDUCATION TO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

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Author Richter, Diane M.
Number of pages 152
Degree date 2018
School code 0193
Source DAI-A 80/01(E), Dissertation Abstracts International
Place of publication Ann Arbor
Country of publication United States
ISBN 978-0-438-36206-2
Advisor Murdick, Nikki
Committee member Chaturvedi, Amrita; Freeburg, Beth; Myers, Karen; Tichy,

Karen
University/institution Saint Louis University
Department Educational Studies
University location United States -- Missouri
Degree Ph.D.
Source type Dissertations & Theses
Language English

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Document type Dissertation/Thesis
Dissertation/thesis number 10929618

accountid=47253
Copyright Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim

copyright in the individual underlying works.
Database ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

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document 6 of 23
Inclusive education for an inclusive economy

Inclusive education for an inclusive economy (2017). . Cape Town: SyndiGate Media Inc. Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/1855611617?accountid=47253
Abstract
None available.
Full Text
An inclusive education system makes an immense contribution towards an inclusive economy to serve an
inclusive society, said Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga on Wednesday, 4 January, during the 2016 NSC
examination results announcement...
"We have for the past few years included learners with special education needs in tracking learner performance
in the National Senior Certificate (NSC)," she explained.
Motshekga said about 1,944 learners with special needs wrote the 2016 NSC examinations, which is an increase
of 15% from those who wrote in 2015.
These learners, the minister said, have increased the number of Bachelor passes from 443 in 2015, to 477 in
2016.
She said Diploma passes increased from 733 in 2015 to 750 in 2016. However, Higher Certificate passes
decreased from 213 in 2015 to 186 in 2016.
The minister said about 439 learners with special education needs, who wrote the 2016 NSC examinations,
obtained distinctions in a variety of subjects.
"Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal contributed 366 Bachelor passes towards the total number of Bachelor passes
achieved by learners with special needs nationally.
"This is equivalent to a 76.7% contribution towards Bachelor passes. Similarly, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal
contributed 495 Diplomas towards the total Diplomas achieved by learners with special needs nationally. This is
equivalent to a 66% contribution towards Diploma passes."
All rights reserved. © 2016. Bizcommunity.com Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
All rights reserved. © 2016. Bizcommunity.com Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

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Title Inclusive education for an inclusive economy
Publication title Bizcommunity.com; Cape Town
Publisher SyndiGate Media Inc
Place of publication Cape Town
Country of publication United States, Cape Town
Publication subject Advertising And Public Relations
Source type Other Sources
Document type News

accountid=47253
Copyright All rights reserved. © 2016. Bizcommunity.com Provided by

SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

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document 7 of 23
Inclusive Education for an Inclusive Economy

Midrand, S. A. T. (2017, Jan 04). Inclusive education for an inclusive economy. AllAfrica.Com Retrieved from
Abstract
None available.
Full Text
An inclusive education system makes an immense contribution towards an inclusive economy to serve an
inclusive society, says Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.
"We have for the past few years included learners with special education needs in tracking learner performance
in the National Senior Certificate (NSC)," said Minister Motshekga on Wednesday during the 2016 NSC
examination results announcement.
She said about 1 944 learners with special needs wrote the 2016 NSC examinations, which is an increase of 15%
from those who wrote in 2015.
These learners, the Minister said, have increased the number of Bachelor passes from 443 in 2015, to 477 in
2016.
She said Diploma passes increased from 733 in 2015 to 750 in 2016. However, Higher Certificate passes
decreased from 213 in 2015 to 186 in 2016.
The Minister said about 439 learners with special education needs, who wrote the 2016 NSC examinations,
obtained distinctions in a variety of subjects.
"Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal contributed 366 Bachelor passes towards the total number of Bachelor passes
achieved by learners with special needs nationally.
"This is equivalent to a 76.7% contribution towards Bachelor passes. Similarly, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal
contributed 495 Diplomas towards the total Diplomas achieved by learners with special needs nationally. This is
equivalent to a 66% contribution towards Diploma passes."
© 2016 AllAfrica Global Media. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
© 2016 AllAfrica Global Media. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

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Title Inclusive Education for an Inclusive Economy
Author Midrand, SAnewsgovza Tshwane
Publication title AllAfrica.com; Washington
Publisher SyndiGate Media Inc
Publication subject General Interest Periodicals--Africa
Source type Wire Feeds
Document type News

accountid=47253
Copyright © 2016 AllAfrica Global Media. Provided by SyndiGate Media

Inc. (Syndigate.info).

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document 8 of 23
Autism and Social Justice Education: Toward an Inclusive

Education System in Uganda
Musisi, L. G. (2017). Autism and social justice education: Toward an inclusive education system in uganda
(10269064). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1933378177). Retrieved from
Abstract
This thesis draws from a critical disability studies framework to examine the extent to which students with
autism are excluded from the educational system. Using secondary sources and in-depth review of the literature,
it investigates three related questions. a) How does the Ugandan education system perceive social justice
education? b) What is the status of autistic children within this system? c) What are the gaps and challenges
faced by learners and educationists in as far as autism is concerned in Uganda? I argue that while Uganda has
some progressive legislation regarding the provision of education to persons with disabilities, and subscribes to
the international idioms of human rights, human capital and social justice; Uganda continues to privilege the
medical model of disability over the social model of disability. Consequently, Uganda has been slow to provide a
truly inclusive learning environment that promotes social justice education for all students.
Details
Subject Education Policy;

Special education;
Social studies education
Classification 0458: Education Policy

0529: Special education
0534: Social studies education
Identifier / keyword Education; Autism; Inclusive education; Pedagogy;

Social justice
Title Autism and Social Justice Education: Toward an Inclusive

Education System in Uganda
Author Musisi, Lwanga G.

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Number of pages 128
Degree date 2017
School code 0779
Source MAI 56/05M(E), Masters Abstracts International
ISBN 978-0-355-10077-8
Advisor Dei, George S.; Wane, Njoki
University/institution University of Toronto (Canada)
Department Social Justice Education
University location Canada
Degree M.A.
Language English

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accountid=47253


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document 9 of 23
An Education Policy for Inclusive Education?

An education policy for inclusive education? (2016, Aug 01). Imphal Free Press Retrieved from
Abstract
After uploading a draft education policy on the website of the Ministry the former Union Minister for Human
Resource Development held five onehour Skype based consultations on its contents for differentzones. The
institutions have respond to every citizen's right to a life with dignity which is how the Supreme Court has
interpreted Article 21 of the Constitution on right to life.
Full Text
Manipur, July 31 -- After uploading a draft education policy on the website of the Ministry the former Union
Minister for Human Resource Development held five onehour Skype based consultations on its contents for
differentzones. That is a positive point. Also its objectives look good. It aims to revamp teacher education to
improve their quality, encouraging new knowledge, pedagogy and approaches, enabling inclusive education and
financing higher education. However, these objectives remain at the policy statements with no idea of how it is
to be implemented. The measures it suggests seem to be geared to the needs of the upper classes and elite
institutions not to those of the poor.
After expressing the intention of the Government to enable inclusive education the focus of the policy draft is to
prepare teachers for the globalised world. It is speaks of new techniques and international standards but does
not say how it will enable inclusive education. The document speaks of the need to have good quality colleges,
universities, medical and technical institutions of an international standard. That is a crying need in India
because no Indian university is among the top 200 of the world. Hidden while focusing on international
standards the document does not say how they will be inclusive i.e. how the poor will gain access to them.
Prestigious medical colleges, management institutes and IITs are useful but very few persons from the region
even from the middle class gain access to them. For example, I do not have recent data but in 2012 we were
informed at a meeting that IIM Shillong had only two students from the region. The situation was slightly better
in IIT Guwahati. It is true that some NE students go to other such institutes outside the region but their number
is somewhat small. That puts the region at a disadvantage.
While it is true of the Northeast as a whole, the situation is worse when it concerns the poor. It means that, one
has to go beyond building only high quality institutions in cities to making these services accessible to the rural
areas and to the poor. The benefit of medical colleges and other institutions can remain with major cities and
may exclude villages and small towns. That issue is crucial for the Northeast. For example, those who study the
land issue know that much land alienation in the region today is within the tribe. In the absence of good colleges
in their States parents send their wards to colleges in Guwahati and Shillong or outside the region. They sell
some of their land to richer persons in their tribe to get money for their children's education. Of much greater
importance is the absence of good health care facilities. In a medical emergency people have no choice but to
sell their land at a throwaway price in order to rush to the cities where such facilities are located. One does not

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have to repeat that land is central to most conflicts in the region.
That is where one can question the focus of the draft policy. Inclusive education is much more than big
institutions. The institutions have respond to every citizen's right to a life with dignity which is how the Supreme
Court has interpreted Article 21 of the Constitution on right to life. Education has to protect this right for
example by changing the processes that cause land alienation, impoverishment and ethnic conflicts. One has
certainly to build prestigious colleges in big cities but one has go beyond them and shift focus to villages and
small towns. Unless good colleges are uilt in each district people will continue to sell their land in order to send
their children to other States. Primary and high schools are as important as colleges. In this context one can
accept the policy focus on public-privatepartnership (PPP) but PPP cannot be limited to industries and big
institutions. It should become real in villages and small towns. North Eastern States ensure free education only
in government-run schools most of which are of poor quality. The voluntary sector provides good quality
education also in villages and small towns but the State does not fund them. So their students have to pay for
their education. It means that the children who cannot afford their fees are condemned to low quality education
in government schools.
To make Article 21 and the right to education real to the poor, PPP has to reach every public and private school.
The State should pay the salaries and maintain all the schools coming under the State Board. This is not a
dream because this system has been implemented in the Southern States, Maharashtra and a few others since
the 1960s under the grant-in-aid scheme. The State pays teacher salaries and pension and even maintains the
buildings owned by private agencies. It has changed with liberalisation basic to which is privatisation of services.
Private schools founded after 1992 are not entitled to the grants. If the North Eastern States believe in the Right
to Education Act and in inclusive education and want to prevent land alienation and the conflicts caused by it,
they should demand a policy in which the Government enters into PPP with the agencies that impart good quality
education. The State should pay the salaries, ensure mid-day meals and pay for the buildings and other facilities
run by voluntary bodies under the State education Board. Those who can afford to pay high fees have CBSE and
ICSE schools. Children who do not have money to buy education have a right to good education in schools and it
should be provided under PPP.
One can go beyond education to health services. The draft policy speaks of the need to build more medical
colleges and of PPP in them. Such institutions in big cities can provide specialised services but priority has to go
to the villages where most health centres exist only in name and rarely have medical persons to take care of
them.
Many private agencies are providing good services but they get no assistance from the State. Health is a basic
human right and the agencies providing such services deserve all support. Of equal importance is transport
whose focus today is on six lane roads and Asian and National highways. They are required but they do not
reach the poor because good transport is neglected in the rural areas. It is needed to transport agricultural
produce to the market, for children to go to school and for patients to avail of health centres in the neighbouring
towns. In other words, for education to be inclusive one has to go beyond the present form of development
whose benefits tend to remain with "Shining India". The policy should steer education and its support
mechanisms of health care and transport towards small towns and villages and to the needs of the poor. In order
to respond to everyone's right to health, food and education the policy should move towards ensuring that its
benefits become real to every Indian citizen particularly in the Northeast.
Published by HT Syndication with permission from Imphal Free Press.
For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at

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htsyndication@hindustantimes.com
Copyright © HT Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Details
Subject Education;
Education policy;
Quality
Title An Education Policy for Inclusive Education?
Publication title Imphal Free Press; Imphal
Publication date Aug 1, 2016
Dateline Manipur
Publisher HT Digital Streams Limited
Place of publication Imphal
Country of publication Iceland, Imphal
Publication subject General Interest Periodicals--India
Source type Newspapers
Document type NEWSPAPER

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accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright © HT Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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document 10 of 23
Experiences of visually impaired students in higher education:

bodily perspectives on inclusive education
Lourens, H., & Swartz, L. (2016). Experiences of visually impaired students in higher education: Bodily
perspectives on inclusive education. Disability & Society, 31(2), 240-251.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2016.1158092
Abstract
Although previous literature sheds light on the experiences of visually impaired students on tertiary grounds,
these studies failed to provide an embodied understanding of their lives. In-depth interviews with 15 visually
impaired students at one university demonstrated the ways in which they experienced their disability and the
built environment in their bodies. At the same time, lost, fearful, shameful and aching bodies revealed prevailing
gaps in provision for disabled students. Through this research it becomes clear how the environment is acutely
felt within fleshly worlds, while bodies do not fail to tell of disabling societal structures. Based on the bodily
stories, we thus make recommendations to improve the lives of visually impaired students on tertiary campuses.
Details
Subject Visual impairment;

Students;
Braille;
Special education;
Built environment;
Higher education;
College students;
Disabled people
Identifier / keyword Inclusive education; higher education; disability;

visual impairment; phenomenology; embodiment; misfits
Title Experiences of visually impaired students in higher

education: bodily perspectives on inclusive education
Author Lourens, Heidi 1 ; Swartz, Leslie 2
1
Department of Psychology, University of Johannesburg,
Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Psychology,

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Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

2
Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University,
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Publication title Disability & Society; Abingdon
Volume 31
Issue 2
Pages 240-251
Publication date Feb 2016
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd.
Place of publication Abingdon
Country of publication United Kingdom, Abingdon

Handicapped--Physically Impaired
ISSN 09687599
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2016.1158092

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accountid=47253
Copyright © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis

Group

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Bibliography
Citation style: APA 6th - American Psychological Association, 6th Edition
advocate. (2019).
56.6.471
Mandula, K., Parupalli, R., Vullamparthi, A. J., Murty, A. S., Magesh, E., & Nelaturu, S. C. B. (2016). ICT based
special education assessment framework for inclusive education in india. Piscataway: The Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE). Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1835842316?
accountid=47253
Motala, R., Govender, S., & Nzima, D. (2015). ATTITUDES OF DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DISTRICT OFFICIALS
TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS. Africa Education Review, 12(4),
515. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1778766473?accountid=47253
Schwab, S., & Hessels, M. G. P. (2015). Achievement goals, school achievement, self-estimations of school
achievement, and calibration in students with and without special education needs in inclusive education.
Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 59(4), 461-477.
College of education hosts conference on inclusive education. (2015, Jul 02). Targeted News Service Retrieved
from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1693075117?accountid=47253
Education research; findings from southern illinois university update understanding of education research
(special and inclusive education in ghana: Status and progress, challenges and implications). (2015, Jul 01).
Education Letter Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1690734851?accountid=47253
Nind, M. (2014). Inclusive research and inclusive education: Why connecting them makes sense for teachers'
and learners' democratic development of education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 44(4), 525.

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doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2014.936825
Mascarenhas, P. (2014, Oct 14). Together we learn better: Inclusive education is the need of the hour. it helps
build friendships and inculcates mutual respect and understanding. patricia mascarenhas investigates why
inclusive education is not successful in india and what is the way forward. DNA : Daily News & Analysis Retrieved
Johnson, D., & EXAMINER, E. (2014, Sep 03). Making an inclusive education ; U of A experts give tips on picking
an inclusive school and making K-12 education safer for LGBT Q students. Edmonton Examiner Retrieved from
Free, compulsory education: Legislation on inclusive education irks schools. (2014, Jun 18). South Asian Media
Net Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1536610846?accountid=47253
General services, education and inclusive education directed at children in the age group 0-10 [tender
documents : T21752047]. (2014). MENA Report, Retrieved from
School district 18 and NBACL providing more information to parents on inclusive education [achieving inclusion:
A parent guide to inclusive education in new brunswick]. (2003). New Brunswick Teachers' Association, 46(3),
Schulman, M. M. M. (2002). Inclusive education of students with special needs in the california elementary
schools: General education teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education (1410362). Available from ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses Global. (231305177). Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/231305177?
accountid=47253
Bunch, G. (1994). Canadian perspectives on inclusive education from there to here: The passage to inclusive
education. Exceptionality Education Canada, 4(3), 19-35. Retrieved from
document 11 of 23
ICT based special education assessment framework for inclusive

education in India
accountid=47253
Abstract
Conference Title: 2016 3rd International Conference on Computing for Sustainable Global Development
(INDIACom)
Conference Start Date: 2016, March 16
Conference End Date: 2016, March 18
Conference Location: New Delhi, India
According to RTE Act 2009/2010 in India, free and compulsory education has to be provided for children of age 6
to 14 years. There are several implementation challenges for providing inclusive education to all specially for

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slow learners, children with learning disabilities, children with mental retardation and having multiple disabilities.
Although some ICT based tools are developed for children with visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical
challenges, little efforts were put for providing education to children with mental retardation. Providing education
to mentally retarded children is a big challenge, because special educators need to assess child's Intelligence
Quotient (IQ) and functional ability in order to plan educational activities personalized to his individual needs and
capabilities. In order to understand child's functional capabilities, standard assessment tools like Functional
Assessment Checklist Programming (FACP), Grade Level Assessment Device (GLAD), Madras development
programming system (MDPS), Aarambh needs to be used. In general, special educators need to assess child's
functional level in order to plan his/her Individualized Educational Plan (IEP). Special educators spend
considerable amount of their time for preparing assessment reports which is a time consuming process. Also, the
details captured using assessment tools is not available in the electronic form. This paper discusses the
challenges faced by special educators in this regard and proposes an ICT based educational assessment
framework for planning and executing individualized education for children with mild mental retardation. It
explains various interfaces that can be provided through this framework to parents and special educators for
assessing, planning, teaching and measuring child's progress.
Details
Subject Mainstreaming;
Parents;
Sustainable development;
Quality;
Children & youth;
Education;
Intellectual disabilities;
Disabilities;
Children;
Impairment
Title ICT based special education assessment framework for

inclusive education in India
Author Mandula, Kumar; Parupalli, Ramu;

Vullamparthi, Annie Joyce; Murty, A S; Magesh, E;
Nelaturu, Sarat Chandra Babu
Publication title The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) Conference Proceedings
; Piscataway
Source details 2016 3rd International Conference on Computing for

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Sustainable Global Development (INDIACom)
Pages 1644-1647
Number of pages 4
Publisher The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

(IEEE)
Place of publication Piscataway
Country of publication United States, Piscataway
Publication subject Engineering--Electrical Engineering
Source type Conference Papers & Proceedings
Document type Conference Proceedings

accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright The Institute of Electrical and Electronics

Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) 2016

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document 12 of 23
ATTITUDES OF DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DISTRICT

OFFICIALS TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN SOUTH
AFRICAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Abstract
Since the inception of inclusive education (IE) much energy has focused on educators and learners. This study
addresses a gap in literature by analysing an important component of the transformation process in the South
African educational landscape -- Department of Education (DoE) district-based officials. This descriptive research
project conducted in Pinetown, KwaZulu- Natal, studied the attitudes of officials towards the inclusion of learners
with learning difficulties at mainstream primary schools. The results indicated that respondents generally held
positive attitudes towards inclusion and that five demographic characteristics of district officials are significant
predictors of positive attitudes towards IE: training in the field of IE; experience in teaching learners with
disabilities; contact with people with disabilities; knowledge of White Paper 6 (WP6); and the official's
workstation. Finally, the study found that officials were alarmed that as many as 10 selected school-based
factors could collectively impede the successful implementation of IE.
Details
Subject Attitudes;
School districts;
Educational leadership;
Elementary education
Location South Africa
Title ATTITUDES OF DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DISTRICT

OFFICIALS TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN SOUTH
AFRICAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Author Motala, Rashid; Govender, Sumeshni; Nzima, Dumisani
Publication title Africa Education Review; Pretoria

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Volume 12
Issue 4
First page 515
Place of publication Pretoria
Country of publication United Kingdom, Pretoria
Publication subject Education--Higher Education
ISSN 18146627
Document type Feature
Document feature Tables; References

accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright Taylor & Francis Ltd. 2015

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document 13 of 23
Achievement Goals, School Achievement, Self-Estimations of

School Achievement, and Calibration in Students With and
Without Special Education Needs in Inclusive Education
Abstract
This study focuses on the goal orientation of students with and without special education needs (SEN) in
inclusive schools. Participants were 186 students (110 boys; 76 girls) from Grade 7 (mean age = 13.83). Of
these, 93 were diagnosed as having SEN, while the other 93 were mainstream students matched on IQ.
Students without SEN scored significantly higher in mastery-goal orientation, while students with SEN had a
significantly higher performance-avoidance orientation. Two-step regression analyses showed that SEN was the
only variable to predict differences in both mastery orientation and performance-avoidance orientation, while
actual school achievements in German and Mathematics, self-estimations of school achievement in these school
domains, as well as calibration (all entered in Step 1) were not significant.
Details
Subject Special education;

Students;
Mathematics;
Elementary school students
Identifier / keyword special education needs; achievement goals;

inclusive education; calibration
Title Achievement Goals, School Achievement, Self-Estimations of

School Achievement, and Calibration in Students With and
Without Special Education Needs in Inclusive Education
Author Schwab, Susanne 1 ; Hessels, Marco GP 2
1
University of Graz

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2
University of Geneva
Publication title Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research; Abingdon
Volume 59
Issue 4
Pages 461-477
Publication date Aug 2015
Place of publication Abingdon
Country of publication United Kingdom, Abingdon
Publication subject Education
ISSN 00313831
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2014.932304

accountid=47253

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Copyright © 2014 Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research

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document 14 of 23
College of Education Hosts Conference on Inclusive Education

Abstract
None available.
Full Text
The University of Massachusetts-Amherst issued the following news release:
The College of Education's Center for Youth Engagement sponsored the Third International Conference and
Symposium on Inclusive Education on June 26-27 at the UMass Center in Springfield.
The conference brought together researchers from Germany, Turkey, the Netherlands and the U.S. to address
inclusion research and issues as they relate to education in public schools. At the conference, a special issue of a
new international journal on research on inclusion was planned, as well as three collaborative research projects,
which will be initiated over the next several months, according to Michael Krezmien, associate professor and
director of the Center for Youth Engagement.
AutoTriage13cn 150703 30TagarumaMar-5200049 30TagarumaMar
Copyright © Targeted News Service. All Rights Reserved.
Title College of Education Hosts Conference on Inclusive

Education
Publication title Targeted News Service; Washington, D.C.
Publication date Jul 2, 2015
Dateline AMHERST, Mass.

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Publisher Targeted News Service
Place of publication Washington, D.C.
Country of publication United States, Washington, D.C.
Publication subject Public Administration
Document type WIRE FEED

accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright © Targeted News Service. All Rights Reserved.

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document 15 of 23
Education Research; Findings from Southern Illinois University

Update Understanding of Education Research (Special and
inclusive education in Ghana: Status and progress, challenges and
implications)
Abstract
According to the news editors, the research concluded: "The main challenges for special and inclusive education
in Sub-Saharan African countries are discussed."
Full Text
2015 JUL 1 (VerticalNews) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Education Letter -- New research on
Education Research is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Carbondale, Illinois,
by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "This case study investigates the special and inclusive
education in Ghana. The authors first delineate the wider human well-being and historical contexts."
Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Southern Illinois University, "Applying a descriptive
design based on measurable preestablished indicators, drawn from Anastasiou and Keller's (2011) typological
framework, the authors provide a systematic description of the 2008 status of special and inclusive education in
Ghana. Furthermore, the produced outcomes compared to pre-established observable goals set in the Education
Strategic Plan 2003-2015 were recorded to evaluate the progress in Ghana's special and inclusive education."
According to the news editors, the research concluded: "The main challenges for special and inclusive education
in Sub-Saharan African countries are discussed."
For more information on this research see: Special and inclusive education in Ghana: Status and progress,
challenges and implications. International Journal of Educational Development, 2015;41():143-152.
International Journal of Educational Development can be contacted at: Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, The
Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; International
Journal of Educational Development - www.elsevier.com/wps/product/cws_home/719)
The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting L.K. Ametepee, Southern
Illinois University, Dept. of Educ Psychol & Special Educ, Carbondale, IL 62901, United States.
Keywords for this news article include: Illinois, Carbondale, United States, Education Research, North and
Central America

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Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2015, NewsRx
LLC
Copyright 2015, NewsRx LLC
Details
Subject Education
Location Illinois; Ghana
Title Education Research; Findings from Southern Illinois

University Update Understanding of Education Research
(Special and inclusive education in Ghana: Status and
progress, challenges and implications)
Publication title Education Letter; Atlanta
First page 53
Publication date Jul 1, 2015
Publisher NewsRx
Place of publication Atlanta
Country of publication United States, Atlanta
ISSN 19381840

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Document type Expanded Reporting

accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright 2015, NewsRx LLC

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document 16 of 23
Inclusive research and inclusive education: why connecting them

makes sense for teachers' and learners' democratic development of
education
Abstract
Following pushes from the disability movement(s) and increased interest in children and young people becoming
involved in research concerning them, inclusive research is growing within and beyond education establishments.
Yet this arena is alive with interesting and largely unanswered questions. This paper discusses some of them:
What do inclusive research and inclusive education have in common? Where have the moves towards inclusive
(participatory and emancipatory) research happened and why? How viable are the claims to the moral
superiority of inclusive research? What kinds and quality of knowledge does inclusive research produce? Finally
the question is addressed of what all this means for inclusive education, arguing that inclusive research has
under-explored potential to reinvigorate inclusive education and provide new connections to democracy and
social justice in education.
Details
Subject Social justice;

Children & youth;
Research;
Education;
Democracy;
Teachers;
Children;
Handicapped;
Democratization;
Disorders
Title Inclusive research and inclusive education: why connecting

them makes sense for teachers' and learners' democratic
development of education
Author Nind, Melanie

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Publication title Cambridge Journal of Education; Cambridge
Volume 44
Issue 4
First page 525
Place of publication Cambridge
Country of publication United Kingdom, Cambridge
Publication subject Education--Higher Education
ISSN 0305764X
CODEN CJEDEI
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2014.936825

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accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright Taylor & Francis Ltd. 2014

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document 17 of 23
Together we learn better: Inclusive education is the need of the

hour. It helps build friendships and inculcates mutual respect and
understanding. Patricia Mascarenhas investigates why inclusive
education is not successful in India and what is the way forward
Abstract
To put this very simply, children with visual impairment, low vision, hearing impairment, leprosy-cured, loco-
motor disability, mental retardation, mental illness, autism, cerebral palsy and multiple disability have the right
to study in a regular school environment till the age of 18 years. "Lack of adequate support from the authorities
and the society which still views disability only on sympathetic grounds leads to insufficient opportunities for
inclusion," says Wadhwani adding that post completion of primary education, there aren't sufficient secondary
schools or vocational training centres for children with special needs which allows them to progress and become
independent in life.
Full Text
"A majority of differently abled children go to special schools, away from their peers who go to regular schools.
However, the Right to Education (RTE) Act, introduced in 2012 allows children with special needs to pursue
mainstream education.
All students, irrespective of their impairment, should be educated in mainstream schools. "If you check Ch 2 (2)
of the RTE Act, it says that a child with 'disability', as defined by the Persons with Disability (PWD) Act 1995 and
the National Trust Act, has the right to free and compulsory education as per the provisions of Ch V of the PWD
Act," informs Pallavi Lotlikar, project manager, Saraswati Mandir Trust. To put this very simply, children with
visual impairment, low vision, hearing impairment, leprosy-cured, loco-motor disability, mental retardation,
mental illness, autism, cerebral palsy and multiple disability have the right to study in a regular school
environment till the age of 18 years. "The RTE rules for children without disability are till completion of
elementary education or class VIII or 14 years of age but for children with disability is till 18 years of age,"
informs Lotikar.
Though some schools practice inclusive education, a majority of children with special needs still do not receive

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any formal education. "The main problem is that no one is aware or concerned about the provisions for special
kids," says Lotikar. Nitin Wadhwani, founder-director, Citizens Association for Child Rights agrees, "It is not only
important to provide infrastructure like ramps, toilets, accessibility to laboratories, playground, etc but also to
identify and support children with learning and mental disabilities."
There are multiple interpretations of the RTE, which is another reason why many redundant laws are being
followed and existing laws are being violated. "Government departments, NGOs dealing with special schools
think that 'special education' is inclusive education. There is a conceptual lack in understanding the RTE clause
on inclusive education," explains Mithu Alur, chairperson, Able Disable All People Together (ADAPT) adding that
inclusive education does not refer only to children with special needs, it is high-quality education individualised
to each child's needs.
Lack of flexibility in curriculum, affordability, being bullied in the class and not getting adequate attention from
the teachers who are not properly trained to teach children with special needs are other contributing factors to
this situation. "Inclusive education is bound to fail if the teachers or principals are not qualified and if children
with disabilities are treated as a burden and passive participants in a classroom," warns Lotikar. Alur adds that
UGC's Teacher Preparation in Special Education (TEPSE) Scheme prepares teachers to teach children with special
need in special schools. IGNOU also concentrates on special rather than inclusive education. "Not much is known
about inclusive education. They need to look at inclusive education training," she advises.
"Inclusive education is a guaranteed long term investment with excellent returns but a very high premium that
we all have to contribute towards in the short-term," says Alur. Children with special needs (CWSN) are unable
to cope with mainstream schools. "Lack of adequate support from the authorities and the society which still
views disability only on sympathetic grounds leads to insufficient opportunities for inclusion," says Wadhwani
adding that post completion of primary education, there aren't sufficient secondary schools or vocational training
centres for children with special needs which allows them to progress and become independent in life. This has
resulted in many children not getting a fair chance on inclusive education.
However despite the hurdles, there are a number of CWSN who have trained in mainstream schools and are
doing really well. Rucha Shere, a child with a down syndrome is one such example. She completed her HSC from
SNDT Women's University, where she is currently pursuing BA. "We had to do a lot of school hopping when she
was younger. Being around other children in a mainstream environment, Rucha progressed, watching them do
things, she too started thinking in a similar manner," says Sunil Shere, parent.
This proves that a society needs to think and be inclusive, the law will only reinforce it. Of course, if not
practiced with correct methodology and appropriate teachers, it will not work. A strong and inclusive public
school system and a vigilant government, media and community is the only answer for an equal and fair
education system. "Every school should be audited and certified RTE compliant, which also means ensuring
inclusive education in the school, not only with physical infrastructure, but also specially trained teachers for
these children and based on compliance, the registration and various grants to these schools should be provided
and renewed periodically," advises Wadhwani.
The Inclusive Education Clause in the RTE Act is an important step in the right direction. It also helps regular
kids. When they attend classes that reflect the similarities and differences of people in the real world, they learn
to appreciate diversity.
"

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Credit:Patricia Mascarenhas
COPYRIGHT @ 2014 DILIGENT MEDIA CORPORATION LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Details
Subject Children & youth;

Disabled people;
Education;
Access to education;
Disability;
Schools
Title Together we learn better: Inclusive education is the need of

the hour. It helps build friendships and inculcates mutual
respect and understanding. Patricia Mascarenhas
investigates why inclusive education is not successful in
India and what is the way forward
Author Mascarenhas, Patricia
Publication title DNA : Daily News & Analysis; Mumbai
Publication date Oct 14, 2014
Section EDUCATION & CAREERS
Publisher Diligent Media Corporation, Ltd., DNA - Research, Archives &

Syndication
Place of publication Mumbai
Country of publication India, Mumbai
Publication subject General Interest Periodicals--India

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Document type News

accountid=47253
Copyright COPYRIGHT @ 2014 DILIGENT MEDIA CORPORATION LTD.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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document 18 of 23
Making an inclusive education ; U of A experts give tips on picking

an inclusive school and making K-12 education safer for LGBT Q
students
Abstract
None available.
Full Text
Going back to school can be a stressful time for all
grade-schoolers, but for LGBTQ students or students with same-sex
parents, the unease of fitting in and making friends, these concerns
can be overwhelming.
"Too often, schools haven't been safe and welcoming places," said
Dr. Kristopher Wells, director of programs and services at the
University of Alberta's Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and
Services (ISMSS).
"In fact, they've been places where a lot of kids have been bullied
or pushed out or have to drop out of school because it's simply not
a safe environment."
According to a pamphlet put out by the Alberta Teachers'
Association, there are numerous ways non-straight and
non-cisgendered students are bullied, including homophobic

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name-calling, shunning and stalking.
These can also progress to deeper emotional and physical acts of
violence. Further, it said, LGBTQ youth can experience an
"oppression of silence," in which they are not represented in the
school.
As these students are "an invisible minority," many will not make
it known that they identify as LGBTQ -- or have family and friends
who do -- if the school they are attending does not take steps to
make an inclusive environment or if the student body appears to
actively or passively condone homo-or transphobia, Wells said.
"Take the temperature of the school. Take the pulse. See if it's an
inclusive environment, see if it's a safe environment, and that's
often by listening. What's the language you're hearing?"
The presence of a gay-straight alliance in a school is a positive
indicator of a school's attitude towards sexual and gender
orientation equality, he said.
If a school lacks such a club, Wells suggests creating one, finding
an after-school support group or joining a diversity or social
justice club.
Students in rural communities, which tend to have smaller LGBTQ
communities, can find information on websites like the Pride Centre
of Edmonton's or join an inclusive summer camp like Camp fYrefly.
According to Wells, making school an inclusive place can begin at a
kindergarten level by teachers making sure same-sex families are
represented in lessons.

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Wells suggests this should continue on throughout all grades, and
that facilities should show members of that community in its halls,
discuss LGBTQ issues in its correspondence with families and ensure
its text and library books show diversity.
"I think, you know, the worst thing is to go to your library and
not see yourself reflected in those books.
"It's really important that school librarians go out of their way
to focus on issues of diversity," Wells said.
He later added that these steps normalize the conversation
surrounding these students and their families.
According to Dr. Wendy Hoglund, at the U of A's department of
psychology, adults have a responsibility to teach and encourage kids
to use inclusive language and acceptance by example.
"I think reaching out to parents and adults can be difficult," she
said.
"It's not just youth that's the problem. "It's really about, just
as a society, about coming on board and thinking about ways we can
help each other."
Students also play a vital role in creating a comfortable
environment, Hoglund said, adding that often, when discriminative
language is thrown around, it simultaneously reinforces that using
that terminology is alright to some students, while making another
group of bystanders sit in uncomfortable silence.
According to Hoglund, it is important to encourage this silent
group to speak out against bullying.

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"Your silence signals your consent," Wells said.
For more information on ISMSS visit ismss. ca ualberta.ca
For additional information regarding LGBTQ issues in Edmonton,
visit pridecentreofedmonton.org.To learn more about schools in the
city, visit
epsb.cafor Edmonton publ ic Schools, or ecsd. net for Edmonton
Catholic Schools.
CREDIT: DOUG JOHNSON, EDMONTON EXAMINER
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc. Sep 3, 2014
Subject Families & family life;

Students;
Multiculturalism & pluralism;
Schools;
Bullying
Company / organization Name: University of Alberta

NAICS: 611310
Identifier / keyword lgbtq; parents; school; stressful; students
Title Making an inclusive education ; U of A experts give tips on

picking an inclusive school and making K-12 education safer
for LGBT Q students
Author Johnson, Doug; EDMONTON EXAMINER
Publication title Edmonton Examiner; Edmonton
First page 2

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Publication date Sep 3, 2014
Section News
Publisher Postmedia Network Inc.
Place of publication Edmonton
Country of publication Canada, Edmonton
Publication subject General Interest Periodicals--Canada
Document type News

accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright Postmedia Network Inc. Sep 3, 2014

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document 19 of 23
Free, compulsory education: Legislation on inclusive education

irks schools
Abstract
None available.
Full Text
LAHORE, June 18 -- With the promulgation of the Punjab Free and Compulsory Education Ordinance, inclusive
education and role of private schools in providing free education have surfaced as major concerns during
deliberations under the Punjab Assembly Standing committee on Education.
The governor had promulgated the ordinance on May 13. The committee had expressed its keenness to hold
consultations on several clauses of the document amidst criticism regarding lack of public deliberations.
The committee is now gearing towards presenting its recommendations to the provincial assembly.
Under the promulgated law, private schools would be required to provide free and compulsory education to 10
per cent of the strength of each class, from grade 1 to grade 10.
Last week, representatives of private school met the committee and raised their objections to the condition
regarding the allocation of 10 per cent seats for free education to deserving students.
Speaking to The The Financial Daily, committee chairperson Qamarul Islam Raja agreed that the provision had
caused reservations among private schools.
Raja said apprehensions had surfaced regarding adjusting the disadvantaged children in private schools under
the provision. The objections included the perceptions that disadvantaged children would not be able to adjust in
the private schools' environment, affecting the confidence and personality of these children. Raja thought
otherwise.
"Children from humble and disadvantaged backgrounds have always been part of some elite private schools,
albeit in very small numbers on specifically allocated seats," he said.
Private schools have been provided with alternative options, including a voucher scheme for children or
establishment of schools for deserving students.
"We have asked them to put forth their recommendations so that these may be considered," Raja said.

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The committee was so far waiting for feedback from private schools.
Inclusive education, according to Raja, had also caused a stir in the consultative process with stakeholders
demanding that it should be provided complete cover under the proposed law.
"The problem with inclusive education is that it requires specialised teachers and resources. and for schools to
ensure this with limited resources is a big challenge," said Raja.
The bill was introduced in the provincial assembly on May 16. It was later referred to the committee for its
recommendations. The ordinance must be passed by the assembly within 90 days or it would lapse and would
need to be reintroduced.
The committee said it had until August 8 before the bill lapsed. It aimed to either get the bill revalidated from
the assembly to allow for further deliberations or passed formally by the assembly.
Another public meeting on the law will take place on Tuesday (today)
Published by HT Syndication with permission from South Asian Media Network.
For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at
htsyndication@hindustantimes.com
Copyright © HT Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Title Free, compulsory education: Legislation on inclusive

education irks schools
Publication title South Asian Media Net; Lahore
Publication date Jun 18, 2014
Dateline LAHORE
Publisher HT Digital Streams Limited
Place of publication Lahore
Country of publication Iceland, Lahore

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Publication subject General Interest Periodicals--India,

General Interest Periodicals--Bangladesh,
General Interest Periodicals--Pakistan,
General Interest Periodicals--Nepal,
General Interest Periodicals--Sri Lanka
Document type WIRE FEED

accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright © HT Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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document 20 of 23
General services, education and inclusive education directed at

children in the age group 0-10 [Tender documents : T21752047]
Abstract
Various school services for school years 2014/2015, 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 for the municipalities of
Calderara di Reno and Sala Bolognese.
Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate: 13/05/2014 - 1300
(c) 2014 Al Bawaba (Albawaba.com)
Full Text
Contract notice: General services, education and inclusive education directed at children in the age group 0-10 -
the municipalities of calderara di reno and sala bolognese
Various school services for school years 2014/2015, 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 for the municipalities of
Calderara di Reno and Sala Bolognese.
This contract is divided into lots: no
Estimated value excluding VAT: 3 551 282 EUR
Deposits and Guarantees required: Provisional security.
Final deposit.
Insurance coverage for RCT.
Insurance Coverage for RCO.
Fire insurance coverage for risks and accessories for damage caused to the premises, facilities, furniture and
other goods.
Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate: 13/05/2014 - 1300
Conditions for opening tenders Date: 14/05/2014 - 09:30

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Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up: Italian.
Tender documents : T21752047.html
(c) 2014 Al Bawaba (Albawaba.com)
Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company
((C) 2014 All rights reserved. Menareport.com)
Details
Title General services, education and inclusive education directed

at children in the age group 0-10 [Tender documents :
T21752047]
Publication title MENA Report; London
Publication date Apr 9, 2014
Section Education
Publisher Albawaba (London) Ltd.
Place of publication London
Country of publication United Kingdom, London
Publication subject Business And Economics
Source type Trade Journals
Language of publication Eng
Document type News

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accountid=47253
Copyright ((C) 2014 All rights reserved. Menareport.com)

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Bibliography
advocate. (2019).
56.6.471
accountid=47253

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accountid=47253
document 21 of 23
School District 18 and NBACL providing more information to

parents on inclusive education [Achieving Inclusion: a Parent
Guide to Inclusive Education in New Brunswick]
Abstract
None available.
Subject Mainstreaming;
Parent materials
Location New Brunswick Canada

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Company New Brunswick Teachers' Assn;

New Brunswick Assn for Community Living
Classification 9172: Canada
Title School District 18 and NBACL providing more information to

parents on inclusive education [Achieving Inclusion: a Parent
Guide to Inclusive Education in New Brunswick]
Publication title New Brunswick Teachers' Association; Fredericton
Volume 46
Issue 3
Pages 22
Number of pages 0
Publication date Nov 5, 2003
Publisher New Brunswick Teachers' Association
Place of publication Fredericton
Country of publication Canada, Fredericton
ISSN 03175227
Source type Trade Journals

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Document type PERIODICAL
Document feature Illustrations

accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright New Brunswick Teachers' Association Nov 5, 2003

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document 22 of 23
Inclusive education of students with special needs in the California

elementary schools: General education teachers' attitudes toward
inclusive education
accountid=47253
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the supports available to general education teachers educating
students with disabilities in their classroom. Teachers' attitudes (measured through the support and collaboration
they received) toward the active involvement and participation of students with special needs in the general
education classroom for at least 80% of the school day also was explored. The sample consisted of 10
elementary school general education teachers in an urban inclusive setting. The researcher interviewed study
participants using a semistructured interview questionnaire designed for the purpose of the study.
Findings suggest that the majority of the teachers were not receiving the necessary support, which included:
lack of Instrumental and Informational professional support and collaboration with school based problem-solving
teams. Support that was received included personal and professional Validation/Esteem building. Respondents
had mixed perceptions about their schools' inclusive education program due to a lack of awareness, preparation,
and training.
Details
Subject Special education
Classification 0529: Special education
Identifier / keyword Education
Title Inclusive education of students with special needs in the

California elementary schools: General education teachers'
attitudes toward inclusive education
Author Schulman, Melissa Molly Mae

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Number of pages 82
Degree date 2002
School code 6080
Source MAI 41/02M, Masters Abstracts International
ISBN 978-0-493-77128-1
Advisor Pavri, Shireen
University/institution California State University, Long Beach
University location United States -- California
Degree M.S.
Language English

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accountid=47253


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document 23 of 23
Canadian perspectives on inclusive education from there to here:

the passage to inclusive education
Abstract
None available.
Subject Access to education;

Mainstreaming;
Educational change;
Special education
Classification 9172: Canada
Title Canadian perspectives on inclusive education from there to

here: the passage to inclusive education
Author Bunch, Gary
Publication title Exceptionality Education Canada; Calgary
Volume 4
Issue 3/4
Pages 19-35
Number of pages 0

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Publisher Western University, Canada
Place of publication Calgary
Country of publication Canada, Calgary
Publication subject Education--Special Education And Rehabilitation
ISSN 1183322X
Document type PERIODICAL
Document feature Illustrations; References

accountid=47253
Copyright Copyright Exceptionality Education Canada 1994

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Bibliography
advocate. (2019).
56.6.471
accountid=47253

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accountid=47253
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Meet Miss Kimberly Voltaire: ABC Preschool Coordinator, Special

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Education: Wheeling High School, Lewis University

Favorite Subject in School: English

Athletics: Volleyball, basketball and track

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Subject Special education;

Company / organization Name: Lewis University

Title Meet Miss Kimberly Voltaire: ABC Preschool Coordinator,

Publication title Chicago Tribune (Online); Chicago

Publication year 2019

Publication date Jan 15, 2019

Section Suburbs - Oak Brook - Community

Publisher Tribune Interactive, LLC

Place of publication Chicago

Country of publication United States, Chicago

Publication subject General Interest Periodicals--United States

Source type Blogs, Podcasts, & Websites

Language of publication English

Document type News

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Database ProQuest Central

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Inclusive Education for Secondary Age Students With Severe

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Social communication development. Participants overwhelmingly described improvements in social

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Implications for Research

Implications for Practice

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Subject Public schools;

Location United States--US; Virginia

Company / organization Name: Department of Education

Name: Department of Health & Human Services

Title Inclusive Education for Secondary Age Students With Severe

Author Ballard, Sarah L; Dymond, Stacy K

Publication title Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; Washington

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