The Socio-Cultural Context of the Integration of Children with Disabilities in Mainstream Schools

Abstract

A frequently encountered speech at the level of educational policies is related to the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools. The expected results, for disabled children, would be related to the reduction of discrimination and prejudices, the chance to offer a better education, to develop their socialization, etc. but the benefits would also extend to the other children, through sensitization, more empathic and informational, nuance of perceptions. Despite these advantages, the integration takes place at a slow pace, with multiple oppositions and resistances from the interested factors, with a reduced compliance and a lack of synchronization of the action of the decision-makers; the most frequent reasons cited are: insufficient training of teaching staff for special education, the demand/rejection by the parents of majority children of the idea of inclusion that would alter their children's performance, the heterogeneity of the children's functioning rhythms which would overburden the teachers, absorbing part of educational energy etc. The current study aims to evaluate the attitudinal context of the future specialists (social workers and teaching staff) towards the integration problem, the degree of perceived educational efficiency, the responsibilities assigned by them to the decision-makers involved. The expected results are the externalization of responsibilities to the central decision-making factors (school inspectorate, NGOs), the overestimation of the role of teachers and parents and non-involvement of groups of children in integrative activities.