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- Inclusive Schools: the power in our handsPublication . Santos, Maria Teresa; Capa, Albertina; Monge, Graciete; Rosário, Maria José doRepresenting the great challenge of the educational systems, the inclusive school must be our aim for the next millennium. Is this a consensual goal? If so, how do we conceptualise an inclusive school and how can we work for it with the resources we have and manage to develop? The present work is a result of an action-research study that started by the enquiry (from June/99 to September/99) to the people responsible for management of all the schools ( more precisely 526, from the preschool level to the third cycle - end of compulsory education in Portugal) of the region of Alentejo, (Baixo Alentejo e Alentejo Litoral) and the intervention (planned for February/2000) with a group of teachers based upon the creative resolution of their school problems, towards the building of a school for all, where children, teachers, parents and other agents of the community find a place to grow personally and professionally.
- Who is the one I find different from me?Publication . Santos, Maria Teresa; Morgado, JoséDifference and Diversity are concepts upon which inclusive school development should be rooted. However, when one talks about difference, the meaning attributed to that concept assumes a great spectrum of possible explanations, certainly based on individual experience and one’s framework of analysis, expressed through a particular world view. The main goal of this research project is to understand how school children and youngsters conceive difference, in other words, what kind of characteristics are stressed when they describe someone they find much different from them and what kind of relationships they think possible to establish with that person. The population was chosen among children and youngsters of all the public schools of Beja (Portugal), constituting three age groups of 9, 12 and 15 years old. In this research we used the written narrative as a method of analysis. What is proposed in this paper is to discuss some of the preliminary results and reflect upon some questions raised, which may bring a different perspective on inclusive education.
- Representações sobre a diferença: a visão de crianças e jovensPublication . Santos, Maria Teresa; Morgado, JoséQuando hoje falamos em educação inclusiva, não podemos dela dissociar as reflexões em torno da diferença. Tratando-se dum conceito multidimensional, as diversas investigações que sobre ele se têm debruçado, fazem-no focando um tipo específico de diferença, seja ela de natureza biológica, cultural, étnica ou outra. Neste trabalho, não quisemos confiná-la a uma única das suas possíveis dimensões, pelo que partimos para o trabalho empírico de modo aberto, e assim, focalizámos a atenção nas representações da diferença em crianças e jovens de 9, 12 e 15 anos (607 sujeitos), a frequentarem o ensino básico e secundário da cidade de Beja. Muitos foram os contributos teóricos que de vários domínios da Psicologia e das Ciências Sociais e da Educação nos inspiraram e portanto, também aqui, quisemos proporcionar o cruzamento de diferentes pontos de vista. Por sua vez, o modelo de investigação é de matriz qualitativa e os instrumentos utilizados, a narrativa e a entrevista. Nesta comunicação apresentaremos alguns dos resultados obtidos e partilharemos as reflexões suscitadas não só pela caracterização que os sujeitos fazem do Outro que é tido como diferente, como também das relações que julgam ou concebem com ele estabelecer.
- Pensar as diferenças através do olhar de crianças e jovensPublication . Santos, Maria TeresaAs representações da diferença em crianças e jovens de 9, 12 e 15 anos, a frequentarem o ensino básico e secundário na cidade de Beja, constituíram o objecto de estudo desta investigação cujos principais objectivos delineados foram: conhecer a representação que estas crianças e jovens têm da diferença, através da descrição de um outro que consideram diferente de si e compreender como concebem as relações com esse(s) outro(s). Consideraram-se como variáveis independentes a idade, o género e o nível académico dos pais dos sujeitos. Um estudo exploratório (29 alunos) possibilitou ensaiar o primeiro instrumento utilizado - a narrativa escrita - que foi posteriormente aplicado a uma amostra de 607 alunos. Um ano depois, 85 destes sujeitos foram entrevistados. As técnicas de tratamento de dados centraram-se na análise de conteúdo (dos textos escritos e das respostas às questões colocadas na entrevista) e na análise estatística. Os principais resultados indicaram haver diferenças significativas na representação da diferença e na relação com a mesma por parte destas crianças e jovens quando se cruzam os dados com as variáveis, idade, género e nível académico dos pais. Porém, ao analisarem-se os resultados gerais, o que se tornou saliente, quando os sujeitos descrevem o outro que consideram diferente de si, foram os aspectos relacionados com o comportamento e competências sociais, evidenciando o que será visto como relevante para se ser aceite ou rejeitado num dado grupo ou contexto. De um modo geral, a representação deste outro tido como diferente apresentou-se como globalmente positiva pelo que, também, ao nível das relações, estas apontaram para o entendimento e satisfação mútuos, independentemente desse outro pertencer a categorias estereotipadas e discriminadas.
- Diversity and acceptance: views of children and youngstersPublication . Santos, Maria Teresa"Modern societies are becoming more heterogeneous, multiethnic, multicultural, and schools have to deal with an increasing number of children whose characteristics are distinct in a multiplicity of aspects. Reflecting then the social reality, the public school is challenged to answer with quality in order to promote the full potential of its population (Ainscow, 1997; Morgado, 2004; Rodrigues, 2006). Human history is full of examples of segregation and humiliation of individuals and groups whose characteristics did not fit the social patterns and rules. This mechanism of categorizing some as different and deviant, upon which many prejudices were built, are still present in contemporary societies, though in more subtle and covered ways than in the past (França & Monteiro, 2004; Vala & Lima, 2003). School is the ideal context to provide the opportunity to contact with diversity. Young people realize this and are aware of school meaning for social development. But when diversity comes in very salient features, how they see it and react to it? Inscribed in the field of inclusive education, this study focuses on children and youngsters’ perceptions of different aspects of diversity in people (e.g., skin colour, handicap, ethnicity, violent behaviour, social-economic status) on their experience of contact with individuals of the referred groups and on the way they see and conceive relationships with them. The theoretical framework puts into perspective various approaches concerning education and difference, the self and others perception, the interpersonal and group relationships, stereotypes and prejudice and also the strategies to promote positive attitudes towards others. A group of 85 children and youngsters (10, 13 and 16 year-olds) of Beja (Portugal) elementary and secondary schools were interviewed. The data analysis was centred not only on the qualitative aspects of the content but also submitted to statistical procedures. As supported by the literature, it was expected that age, gender and parents’ academic level (independent variables) would influence children’s and youngsters’ perceptions, therefore bringing to light distinct patterns of thought and behaviour. However, in this study, there was no statistic evidence of such differences. As a whole, the results show a group whose perceptions of others, who belong to usually stereotyped and discriminated social categories, are mainly positive and so are the relationships established or foreseen with members of those groups. If skin colour, handicap and social-economic status are consider by the great majority as not offering any problem to relationships, the same is not so unanimous regarding the gipsy ethnic group and here the prejudice is more evident, with many stating how difficult they find to relate with members of this group. In fact, when we look into the various studies, the gipsy ethnic group is the minority group most rejected by the Portuguese Society (Dias et al., 2006; Fonseca et al., 2005; Mendes, 2005). Therefore, this presentation will analyse some of the results and discuss the role of school to promote the acceptance of diversity."