Issues around school inclusion, in light of inclusive education based on fundamental principles of equity and equal opportunity, in order to offer a fairer school with educational quality to all students regardless of specificities, have posed a considerable challenge for educational systems in various parts of the world in recent years. The relevance and urgency of inclusive thought and action motivated us to learn from two different realities and to study the education that means to be inclusive in its particularities. In this regard, we sought to reflect on this subject, which has been a topic studied by several researchers due to its relevance to Educational Sciences in recent years, in several diverse ways. As there is no consensus regarding the conceptualization and inclusive action, and because this is a process that poses challenges to educational policies and of practical nature, a reorientation of the prevailing school model, which has already shown significant improvements, is required. That said, we sought to investigate how, in different scenarios, inclusive education is conceived and practiced in a school in Brazil and in another one in Portugal. Thus, we assume that Inclusive Education is everyone's right and is oriented to respond to the diversity of students. As such, we seek to understand how it is perceived and the actual practices in different contexts. In order to achieve this goal, a theoretical construct was used, based on the axes of inclusive education policies and essential dimensions, so as to analyse both scenarios. This study is of a qualitative matrix and the descriptive contribution that highlights elements of the natural context is in accordance with the proposed objectives; its research strategy is the case study, thus allowing us to know these realities. Mixed instruments were used for data collection. The data were analysed in 4 distinct dimensions: (1) Contexts; (2) Resources; (3) Processes; and (4) Impacts. In Brazil, despite the vast legislation issued over the last decades, it presents Special (needs) Education in the perspective of inclusive education, and it centres its actions on students with disabilities, both of physical or cognitive nature. In Portugal, in line with the proposed guidelines for international inclusion policies, the publication of the Decree-Law no. 54/2018 of 6th July 2018 implements a proposal that reorients school practices and their professionals, therefore reflecting changes in actions and in a more inclusive education model. Considering the above-mentioned, this paper seeks to contribute to further discussions in this field of research, which, despite significant studies, remains of great importance and complexity, hence requiring further development regarding inclusive education models. This thesis consists of three main chapters. The first chapter presents the theoretical framework, structured from the concepts and models of inclusive education. It is conceptually constituted by several definitions and diverse approaches. At first, it refers to what inclusive education is, followed by an understanding of inclusive education models and how inclusive schools are defined. In the second moment, it presents the educational policies in inclusive education from two empirical fields Portugal and Brazil. In the second chapter, the study method is presented, in which the research questions and problem are posed, through the detailing of the case and the study participants, the collection procedures with the instruments adopted, interview, focus groups and document collection and analysis and and finally, data analysis procedures. Finally, the third chapter deals with the presentation and discussion of the results from the analysis of the data in order to reflect on thinking and doing inclusive education in Brazil and in Portugal, it will promote a reflection on inclusive education from the conceptions and practices in two countries, observing organizational and pedagogical issues in these realities, but also considering organizational structures and instruments such as the Political Pedagogical Project in Brazil and the Educational Project in Portugal, as well as the BNCC and Decrees nº 54 and 55 /2018 are so relevant to translate the reality of inclusive education in both countries. The data were organised and analysed qualitatively based on different categories of analysis. As a result of this research, it was concluded that Inclusive Education may have different approaches, different conceptions as well as differentiated pedagogical practices, although there is a convergence towards the professional practice of some teachers who still “resist” the changes that the inclusive education paradigm requires, thus making the process more difficult. On the other hand, most see inclusive values in a positive light such as the right to education for all as well as the support of the AEE (Atendimento Educacional Especializado) in Brazil and EMAEI (Equipa Multidisciplinar de Apoio à Educação Inclusiva) in Portugal. We have concluded that despite some contradictions regarding inclusion processes and organisational dynamics, what is perceived is that there is still some work to be done which implies a change in the teachers' mentality in their pedagogical practice, even when recognising the complexity of the situation as it involves an articulation between training and performance, the need to have a more holistic perspective and the recognition that it is urgent to develop pedagogical practices that may value more collaborative work, diversify methodological resources, make curricula more flexible and invest in teacher training to value the student's autonomy in the construction of their own educational process. Given the centrality of this perspective in this research, we expect it to greatly contribute to the discussions on the topic.
| Date of Award | 13 Apr 2023 |
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| Original language | Portuguese |
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| Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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| Supervisor | Marisa Carvalho (Supervisor) |
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