TITLE:
School Inclusion: Analyzing the Establishment and Organization of a Special Needs Education Service in a Brazilian Municipality
AUTHORS:
Maria Júlia Canazza Dall’Acqua, Relma Urel Carbone Carneiro, Leandro Osni Zaniolo
KEYWORDS:
Specialized Education Services, Inclusion, Public Policies
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.5 No.7,
April
28,
2014
ABSTRACT:
The present research
integrates a network of studies called National Monitoring Center for Special
Education (NMCSE) which studies the Multi-purpose Feature Rooms (MFRs) in
regular schools. We aim to investigate whether the service offered by such
rooms, maintained by the Department of Education of the Municipality of
Araraquara, in S?o Paulo State, Brazil, is being successful at supporting the
education of children and youth with special needs, pervasive developmental
disorders and high skilled/gifted individuals. We have also investigated the
limits and possibilities of such rooms concerning the set of services offered
to their participants. In order to conduct the present research, we have
performed: an interview with the Special Education Program manager from the
abovementioned Department of Education; and the analysis of a Training Program
that MFRs teachers must take. The training program consists of ten morning and
afternoon shift meetings. The analyzed data leads us to conclude that the
policy of implementation of MFRs, even in this relatively restricted universe
is seen from different perspectives. Some interpretations are still permeated
by the clinical model, considering individual action. The challenges observed
in the classrooms show that the cooperation among teachers still occur randomly
and, among other difficulties raised by them, is the selection of the right
placement methods to identify eligible students who will benefit from the
Specialized Educational Service (SES). In addition, teaching evaluation was
considered fragile, as well as the training and the general requirements
demanded in order to achieve the expected results.