Perceptions of the Educational Community on the Inclusion and Presence of Students with SEN in Mainstream Schools: A Mixed Study

Abstract

Achieving inclusive education is a primary challenge for the educational community. Inclusion refers to equal access to education—to the presence, participation and learning of all students. Offering an inclusive education requires all students to share time and space together in the mainstream classroom, that the educational community manifests a positive attitude towards diversity, and that educational centers plan to welcome diversity in their classrooms. The general objective of this study was to evaluate the inclusion of students with SEN enrolled in SOCs in mainstream schools based on their presence, the attitudes of the educational community and the planning processes developed. This was a descriptive study with a dominant status mixed design (QUAN-Qual). The population investigated in this research included the total number of SOCs of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia (Spain) (n = 108). The sample obtained comprised 3.891 people belonging to 88 SOCs from 68 educational centers, which implies a confidence interval of 99% (Z = 2.576) and a margin of error of less than 5%. The data collection instruments used included seven questionnaires, adapted for the purposes of the study, for the quantitative phase, and semi-structured interviews, focus groups and discussion groups for the qualitative phase. The study results indicated that the attitudes of the educational community were the main determinant of inclusion. There is a need to reflect on and undertake actions to eliminate existing barriers to the operation of SOCs, since the involvement of students with SEN in the academic and social life of educational centers, and in mainstream classrooms, is not guaranteed.