Barreiras e facilitadores na inclusão de crianças e adolescentes com deficiência na escola: uma perspectiva dos docentes

Abstract

Introduction: Inclusive education in schools are advocated by the government. However, in practice, people with disabilities still face numerous challenges in accessing them. Objective: To analyze teachers' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators encountered in schools concerning students with disabilities. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional, observational study with a qualitative approach. The participants were teachers from two public schools in the municipality of Santa Cruz/RN, who had direct experience with students with disabilities and were at least 18 years old. Data collection began with the application of a structured questionnaire to characterize the sample. Subsequently, a focus group was conducted, in which guiding questions previously defined were discussed. The information provided during the focus group was analyzed qualitatively and categorized into barriers and facilitators, according to the domains of the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) of the World Health Organization. Results: The total sample of the study consisted of 14 participants, 71.4% of whom were female, with a mean age of 43.7 years and an average teaching experience of 12.8 years. The findings revealed that barriers identified in this study outweighed facilitators and remain prevalent in the school environment. These barriers highlighted a lack of assistant teachers, the workload of regular teachers, and inadequately adapted infrastructure to meet students' needs. Additionally, the study found that teachers’ perceptions of facilitators in the inclusive pedagogical process can enhance the engagement of students, families, and school managers in more inclusive activities, such as continuous teacher training, family support, and active school management for family involvement. Conclusions: Continuous training strategies for education professionals, proper allocation of assistant teachers, encouragement of active family engagement in the educational process, and the strengthening of public inclusion policies are recommended. These strategies should particularly emphasize the adoption of educational technologies recognized for promoting a more inclusive learning environment. The results of this study provide a foundation for deepening discussions on this research topic, especially within the regional context of a municipality located in northeastern Brazil.