The inclusion of students with disabilities and global developmental disorders

Abstract

The challenge of articulating school curricula with the assumptions of the schooling for students with disabilities and with global developmental disorders is discussed. This article is divided into two sections: in the first section, we bring the contributions of Meirieu (2002) and other authors from the educational field in order to think about the making of more open curricula that based on the students’ right to learn. In the second section, we discuss the relation between curriculum and the schooling of this kind of students, supported by a study called National Observatory of Special Education: a nationwide network study on multipurpose-resource classrooms in regular schools (ONEESP). The study provided professional development meetings to the teachers who work with special education students. Participants in training had the task of taking such formative actions to the schools where they worked. Additionally, we did a follow-up of a teacher in a school in the city of Vitória ES and we analyzed: a) the contributions of research to her knowledge and practices; and b) semi-structured interviews were conducted with school professionals in order to discuss the challenges existing in the relation between curriculum and special education. Data problematized if teachers really lack training and knowledge to mediate the students’ learning; if teachers felt paralyzed in the face of their work; the importance of recognizing teachers as mediators of knowledge; curriculum as a cultural practice open to new experiences and school as a place that acknowledges the possibility of re-inventing its everyday routine through the actions of those involved in it.