Inclusive education in Italy: Historical steps, positive developments, and challenges

AbstractThe Italian school system has a long tradition of inclusive education, starting in the 1970s with the first experiences of integrating students with disabilities into regular schools. Since then, legislation has developed to guarantee students with disabilities and other special educational needs the right to individualization and personalization. This article presents the main developments in Italian inclusive education, documenting both positive outcomes and ongoing challenges, especially those which could be of interest for international readers. The article is structured around three relevant themes: the persistent influence of an individual-medical model of disability on school practices; support opportunities and additional resources for inclusion; and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and their role in the improvement of the quality of inclusion

Modelli di valutazione di un sistema scolastico inclusivo

In the last two decades, the topic of evaluation of the quality of educational systems has become central in the national and international arena. Evaluation is seen as a tool to verify the effectiveness and sustainability of the systems with the aim of improvement. In the Italian context, inclusion is a key principle of the school system, at all levels of education and encompasses various factors: from nursery school to university, from classroom teaching to school organisation and policies. For this reason, the evaluation of the school system cannot be separated from that of inclusive education. This book presents an overview of current evaluation systems and the state of implementation and research on school inclusion. The analysis highlights the multiple interconnections between the general evaluation of the school system and the evaluation of school inclusion, and aims to unify them through a new and original ecological approach that promotes a recursive and generative link between practice, research and evaluation. The book is addressed to researchers working in the field of educational evaluation and school inclusion, as well as teachers, principals and other education professionals who seek a collaborative, participatory and transformative evaluation system

Parallelisms, synergies and contradictions in the relationship between Special Education, Gifted Education and Inclusive Education

Special Education and Gifted Education are two theoretical and research areas that have developed in parallel: the former dealing primarily with pupils with disabilities and other special educational needs, the latter with a small percentage of high-ability students. Although Gifted Education can be considered as part of the broader field of Special Education, it is a separated branch in terms of both methods and aims. Nevertheless, the two areas share the dominant debate about school inclusion, as a common direction in contemporary education. With reference to national and international research, the article contains a parallel reflection on historical, normative, theoretical and operative aspects of Special and Gifted Education, with the aim of identifying the critical issues concerning both fields as well as their possible developments in relation to Inclusive Education. Parallelismi, sinergie e contraddizioni nel rapporto tra Special Education, Gifted Education e Inclusive Education La Pedagogia Speciale e la Gifted Education sono due settori che si sono sviluppati parallelamente: il primo occupandosi principalmente dei soggetti con disabilità e altri bisogni educativi speciali, il secondo di un'esigua percentuale di studenti con capacità elevate. Sebbene la Gifted Education possa essere considerata una branca della più ampia Special Education, essa si configura come autonoma sia per metodi che per scopi ma non del tutto avulsa dal dibattito dominante verso cui tendono tutte le istanze educative contemporanee: l'educazione inclusiva. Il contributo affronta dal punto di vista della ricerca nazionale e internazionale l'intersecarsi di questioni storiche, normative, teoriche e operative tra Pedagogia Speciale e Gifted Education allo scopo di individuare i nodi critici e i percorsi possibili per una confluenza nell'ambito dell'Inclusive Education

Learning, Social, and Psychological Outcomes of Students with Moderate, Severe, and Complex Disabilities in Inclusive Education: A Systematic Review

The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the learning, social, and psychological outcomes of students with moderate, severe, and complex disabilities (MSCD) in inclusive settings. The review discusses barriers to conducting rigorous research in this field. Whilst an initial literature search located 1,338 records, only 18 were finally included due to the eligibility criteria. Studies were placed in categories based on the topics investigated. Regarding learning outcomes of students with MSCD, findings were moderately in favour of school inclusion for both academic achievement and adaptive skills. Regarding social outcomes, results showed that inclusive settings offer more access to instructional time and peer interaction, although they reported marginalisation during class activities and social isolation within the peer group. Finally, in terms of psychological outcomes, inclusive settings appeared to reduce the frequency of challenging behaviours. The paper also addresses conceptual barriers regarding the definition of inclusion and its consequences on research and practice as well as research design barriers resulting from the quality of research in this field. Based on review results, this paper outlines epistemological propositions for developing standards of quality for both research and practice in the field

Experiences and learning outcomes of students without special educational needs in inclusive settings: A systematic review

This systematic review explores the experiences and learning outcomes of students without special educational needs (SEN) in inclusive settings. Based on a literature search, 450 records were screened, and 37 qualitative and quantitative studies were included. According to the main findings, peers show good attitudes towards students with SEN, especially when they are female or had prior contacts with disability. Peers express a certain level of social acceptance and empathy towards students with SEN, together with worries regarding consequences of inclusion on their individual learning outcomes. Findings on peers’ academic achievement and noncognitive outcomes are contradictory. The paper addresses barriers and backlashes deriving from the lack of a common definition of inclusion and a low methodological quality of the research available in the field. On the one hand, the results underline that the selected studies tend to overlook relevant variables, both contextual and individual. On the other hand, limitations are related to the non-availability of high-quality and rigorous experimental studies. The review highlights the urgent need to establish common criteria for the definition, implementation, and research in inclusive education in order to give more reliable information to stakeholders and policymakers