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Wed, 22 Jul 2020 in Revista on line de Política e Gestão Educacional
SPECIALIZED EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE AND REGULAR EDUCATION: TEACHING OF INTERLOCUCIONES WITH A VIEW TO THE INCLUSION
ABSTRACT
The central theme of this text is the inclusion in the school space of a stigmatized minority. The objective is to reflect how the interlocution between teachers in the specialized Educational Service Room (ESA) and the regular classroom in the perspective of the inclusion of people with disabilities occurs. This is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach performed in schools of the municipal public system of Sobral-CE, having as participants 10 teachers using the questionnaire to collect the data. The results show that the teachers of the common teaching room and the AEE room must be in constant harmony, so that the goals are achieved, so that the work is interdisciplinary and collaborative. It is necessary to equip the school institutions for this care and, to invest in the training of teachers in the common teaching room and the specialized educational attendance room, which should promote the reception and inclusion of these children
Main Text
Introduction
At the global level the Declaration of Salamanca of 1994 is considered as a global framework in the diffusion of the philosophy of Inclusive Education, while in Brazil it is represented by the National Policy of Special Education in the perspective of Inclusive Education with the commitment to include students with disabilities in the regular school that from then on, had the responsibility to offer equal access among all students, regardless of their physical condition if said 'normal' or with disability (BRASIL, 2008).
Despite this progress, there is still a strong debate about the advantages and disadvantages of school inclusion. In this light, different practices and assumptions are found today, which guarantees consensus and accommodates different positions that may be extremely divergent.
Even though the law has been instituted, it is not so much less guarantee that school inclusion is made effective, since it must be observed and experienced without separation or any other concept of differentiation, understanding that it only exists effectively when it is fostered an education in the same school context, of all children, whether or not they have a disability, meaning that they never deny students' learning difficulties.
In this perspective the differences in an educational process should not be seen as problems, but rather as diversities that should prioritize the different interactions, because as already stated by Vigotsky (2007) it is through the social interactions that learning truly happens, through the opportunity for social coexistence of all children in the same environment.
For this, two professionals are essential to ensure the realization of a full development of the autonomy of children with disabilities: the teacher of the regular classroom and the educational therapist of the multifunctional resource room of the specialized educational service.
In light of the above, the goal is to reflect how the interlocution between teachers of the Specialized Educational Assistance (AEE, Portuguese initials) classroom and the regular classroom with the perspective of the inclusion of people with disabilities is configured.
It should be emphasized here that the Specialized Educational Assistance (AEE) is a "set of activities and educational and accessibility resources, organized institutionally, provided in a complementary or supplementary way to the training of students targeted at special education, enrolled in regular education" (BRASIL, 2013, p. 7).
The different professional contacts of researchers with the different realities and dichotomies of inclusion in the educational field and how this interferes directly or indirectly in the quality of life of people with disabilities and, especially, respect for human rights justify the study that has as central problematic: concerns such as "How does communication between AEE teachers and the regular classroom take place in the perspective of inclusion? How does this contact between professionals increase the demand of students with disabilities?
It is pointed out that the study is relevant because present pedagogical practices in the school space, whose main interest is to promote inclusion and thus not only cognitive, motor, emotional and social development, but also respect for the right to education recognized as good Social.
Methodology
The study is of a descriptive-exploratory type with a qualitative approach, since it deals with the world of human relations, especially an imperceptible and hard to see side in equations (MINAYO, 1998). Held in the period of August to November in the year 2017, in urban schools, in the geographical area of Sobral, located in the Northern Zone of the State of Ceará, about 250 km from the capital, Fortaleza, having as a universe, the teachers who make up the Secretary of Education of the Municipality of Sobral.
The research universe was the Sobral Public Education Network with all its human and physical structure. The research participants are the teachers who meet the criteria for inclusion that were to be statutory, with room in multifunctional-AEE or regular resource rooms, with students in attendance in the AEE since not all municipal schools have the Multifunctional Resource Room-AEE being this condition considered for the random selection of 10 participants, 05 of regular room and 05 of Multifunctional Resource Room-AEE. As an exclusion criterion the temporal space disorientation when responding the questionnaire was punctuated.
For the collection of data, different techniques were carried out such as visits, observation in the Multifunctional Resource Rooms - AEE, still, in the common teaching rooms and applied an interview with three open questions. To preserve the identity of participants, they will be identified as P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5 and PAEE1, PAEE2, PAEE3, PAEE4 and PAEE5. To their participation, by choice, were made Portuguese Language corrections, presenting the results in order to reflect with the pertinent literature to the area.
It should be noted that all the steps of this research respected the ethical aspects pertinent to studies with human beings, validated by Law 466/2012 and protected by Resolution 510/2016.
Results and discussion
The research characterizes by an intention to analyze the change of paradigms, customs and concepts rooted in old educational practices.
It is well known that the pedagogical proposals contemplated in many school institutions, as well as in teaching practices, have a misleading view that unfortunately still sees the student with disabilities as being different and that must be treated differently, violating the Federal Constitution of 1988 that affirms education is a duty of the State, a right of the citizen, and that it must contemplate equality by its condition of access and permanence, without distinction of any nature, being inalienable precept, equality of all before the law (BRASIL, 1988).
From this perspective, it was inquired about the considerations about the process of inclusion of children with disabilities in regular education. The responses were similar in the sense that much is still missing for the true "include", however, they point out factors that differ the ideas.
The Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education (LDBEN, Portuguese initials) No. 9.394/96 already foresees in its Art. 59 that "the education systems must assure to students with disabilities curriculum, methods, resources and organization specific to attend to their needs, contemplating in these professional spaces with adequate knowledge and training to deal with these demands" (BRASIL, 2013).
It is believed, based on studies, that this is the largest active public policy in Brazil with a view to include people with disabilities in education, but that alone is not yet effective (OLIVEIRA, 2017), as we can see in the following paragraphs:
P1: [...] are necessary more effective public policies, in the sense of assistance, [...] only the support of the AEE teacher is not enough for the expected result, a team of specialized professionals is needed.
P2: It is not enough to enroll students with disabilities in regular education and offer specialized educational services, it is necessary to have a transdisciplinary support5
The realities pointed out by the participants are similar to those identified by Greguol, Malagodi and Carraro (2018) in their study with Physical Education teachers, who observe the need of the multidisciplinary team for the inclusion process, or with Camargo's text (2018) where the author shows that it is necessary that the methodologies, materials and instruments reach the principles of diversity avoiding to homogenize the actions thinking in single classrooms.
This idea finds scope in the words of Sant'Ana (2005), who pointed out that the history of educational thought confirms that the fact that these students are in the same space with the others does not mean that they are actually included, taking into account that inclusion implies school practices that provide meaningful relationships within the perspective of collaborative learning, capable of removing barriers to access and participation of these people in learning and society.
In this same line, Mazzotta and D'Antino (2011, p. 47) show that the policies of inclusion of students in the regular network of education do not consist in the physical permanence of these students in presumed schools with adequate physical structure, but the schools need everything the technical and didactic-pedagogical support suitable for people with disabilities.
PAEE3 pointed out that inclusion is on the right track, underscoring the partnership held with the management group and all classroom teachers, in order to implement inclusive actions daily in the school environment and not only within the AEE room.
Today it is very different from a few years ago because we have the freedom to discuss ideas to improve the development of children with disabilities and feel the support of the school group.
P3: Inclusion is a reality that needs to be improved.
P5: Caregiver work with students with disabilities helps a lot in practice.6
According to the statements, its reality being compatible with what is placed in the National Policy of Special Education in the Perspective of Inclusive Education, it is the task of the teaching systems to provide the functions of instructor, translator/interpreter of Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) and guide-interpreter, as well as of monitor or caregiver of the students with need of support in the activities of hygiene, feeding, locomotion, among others, that demand constant aid in the school daily.
Relevant to what was pointed by PAEE3, Oliveira and Cordeiro's (2018) study, conducted with management teams in Santa Catarina, there is still little agreement on the part of the directors about what is actually AEE, which for this study is a positive point that municipal networks are meet with other visions and perspectives.
It should be noted that all teachers in the AEE room were unanimous in stating that, despite all the mishaps, the work developed is really to include. They pointed out that they use different resources to give students the chance to live on equal terms with other students.
The second question asked of the group of teachers was related to the main barriers faced in the process of inclusion in the daily school life, because it is understood that there are many in the daily routines of schools to effectively include children with disabilities in regular education. Barriers refers to obstacles, attitudes or behaviors that hinder or impede the social partition of an individual, as well as freedom of movement and expression, communication, information, security.
It was noted that accessibility, despite so much discussion in the current context, is still lacking. Of the 10 participants, 04 mentioned that they still have difficulties in the physical structure part of the school, as well as specific didactic resources for these students. In the process of school inclusion, there are some learners who need full-time help and mediation in classrooms.
For Pelosi and Nunes (2009), students with more severe motor and intellectuals deficits are often unable to speak to respond to teacher requests, do not write autonomously, and are dependent on their mobility and self-care, but these same learners can learn and to express themselves if they are offered greater accessibility, in keeping with the theory of Howard Gardner when he points out the Theory of Multiple Intelligences in a perspective that the person can develop with at least 10 different knowledges (GARDNER, 1995) and that the fact of it having a disability does not imprison her in a specific model.
Therefore, there is a need to think about these techniques, resources and professionals that can help these students to develop in the best possible way. In this sense, "the knowledge of Assistive Technology and support services have become fundamental for the process of school inclusion" (PELOSI; NUNES, 2009).
Attitudinal barriers were also highlighted by PAEE2, which emphasized:
Their own families who still act with certain types of prejudices and often do not accept children participate in activities with other students, thus preventing the social participation of children with disabilities on equal terms, so important for their development.7
Concerning these same aspects, P5 also showed dissatisfaction in some of the attitudes of the families when reporting that "[...] some parents consider the child with disabilities as an incapacitated being, and thus deprive them of some activities that may be beneficial to the conviviality with other children.", being dissatisfaction, also of P3, besides not complying with the pedagogical and medical guidelines, allowing the children not to come to AEE.
The LDB establishes that the AEE must be established under the responsibility of the school, taking into account the specific needs of each student, performed in the counter shift without prejudice to participation of these students in other school activities (BRASIL, 2013).
Law 13.146 (BRASIL, 2015, p.22) brings in its devices the classification of existing barriers that must be faced. These are: urban, architectural, transportation, communication, attitudinal and technological barriers (BRASIL, 2015, p.22).
  • a) urbanistic barriers: those existing in roads and in public and private spaces open to the public or for collective use;
  • b) architectural barriers: those in public and private buildings;
  • c) barriers in transport: those in systems and means of transport; barriers to communication and information: any hindrance, obstacle, attitude or behavior that makes it difficult or impossible to express or receive messages and information through communication and information technology systems;
  • d) attitudinal barriers: attitudes or behaviors that prevent or impair the social participation of the person with disabilities in equal conditions and opportunities with other people;
  • e) technological barriers: those that hinder or impede the access of people with disabilities to the technologies;
In practice, it is evident that the legal device takes a real approach of the barriers that must be transposed for an effective inclusion in the context of the classroom.
Another difficulty pointed out by a P4 is related to their training to deal with such specific cases of children with disabilities. For her, although she has the support of the management and the AEE teacher, she always feels insecure because she does not know how to act every time:
We, teachers of special students would need to have a more specific training that directed us more accurately, last year I had in my class a visually impaired child and now I have one with intellectual disability, I do not feel so prepared.8
What is perceived despite the growing number of training in recent years is that there is still a significant shortage of professionals trained in dealing with this clientele. Guasselli (2012) warns against the absence of a serious and effective policy of inclusive education in most school systems, which present disruptions, discontinuities and lack of continuous teacher education that is appropriate to educational policies.
Monico, Morgado and Orlando (2018) point out in their study on Special and Inclusive Education in Postgraduate Programs that this subject still suffers from enormous deficiency in the years that go from 2009 to 2013. Similarity, only that aimed at Higher Education, is presented by Bazon et al. (2018) by identifying low levels of training for Special and Inclusive Education among university professors from two federal institutions located in São Paulo and Minas Gerais.
The data reveal that the formation of teachers in the perspective of Inclusive Education does not have the real visibility, which may compromise the way in which the classes are taught and how the professionals of the two classes - regular and AEE - interact with each other in the perspective of including students with disabilities. In order to understand this knowledge, the third question turned to the articulation between the inclusion proposals worked by the teachers of the common room and the AEE room.
There was unanimity in stating that there is a constant search for harmony so that the goals set for students with disabilities are achieved through work being interdisciplinary and collaborative. It should be noted that the common classroom teacher is assigned the teaching of the areas of knowledge and the teacher of the Multifunctional Resource-AEE is worth completing the training of the student with specific knowledge and resources that eliminate the barriers that impede or limit their participation with autonomy and independence in the common classes of regular education (BRASIL, 2010).
For Mousinho et al. (2010), the partnership between the professionals of the school allows the establishment of realistic goals in terms of development, as well as the evaluation of the learner according to their own achievements. In this sense, the teacher of the multifunctional resource room - AEE should be a partner of the teacher of the common teaching room.
On these aspects PAEE4 indicated that recognizes the difference between the functions, since the AEE teacher identifies, elaborates and organizes pedagogical and accessibility resources, but does not consider at any moment that this work should be individual, because "[...] the work of one, depends on the work of the other.", recognizing in the AEE teacher a mediator of the development of the student with a disability, being also responsible for helping other teachers and the entire pedagogical team in working with this public.
For P5, the proposals between the AEE teacher and the common teaching room must always be aligned, although each one maintains its specific functions: "Here at the School, even with all the rush, I always take the time to talk with the teacher of AEE, I always seek help because it is very difficult for me to develop strategies to help my students with disabilities".
It is argued before the questions posed that inclusion is a reality lived within the schools, however, a more effective policy and a process of conscientization by all that permeate society is still necessary. It should encompass all individuals, regardless of their physical or psychological condition, because according to the National Special Education Policy from the perspective of Inclusive Education (BRASIL, 2008), everyone has the right to learn and to develop in any school, which must respect the differences, limits and facilities of each student.
For this reason, there is an urgent need to structure schools more and more to make it possible for inclusive policies to be followed and to characterize the role of each professional in the inclusion process, in order to help students with disabilities to develop their potential.
However we can not fail to point out that with the advent of the internet, applications are being designed to improve the performance of the student with disabilities. We can bring the application called "Gulia", as it is called, created by an Amazonian that has the same name of the application, went live in July 2018 and in November of that year already had more than 5 thousand downloads, the application transforms the Libras movements in audio message and translates the audio into Libras movements. Therefore, we believe that the use of the application in the classroom can corroborate with the school development of students with disabilities.
It is understood as limitations of this study the scarcity of texts in the national literature that specifically address the theme of this study.
Final considerations
The proposal of an inclusive society, based on a philosophy that recognizes and values diversity, has been discussed and instituted over time and inserted in the daily lives of the population in general. This inclusive process and the transformations generated in the schools or in the ideologies of the people and in the paradigms of the education, already began to make changes. The big question is how to make it easier for a process of inclusion of children with disabilities to take place in regular education.
It was observed with this research that the policies of inclusion of students with disabilities in the regular network of education do not only consist in the physical permanence of these students with the other students, it is much more than that, considering that it represents the daring to revise conceptions and paradigms, as well as to develop the potential of these people, respecting their differences and taking into account their weaknesses.
Faced with this, it is necessary to build in each professional of the school community a new look at the subjects, breaking with the view that disability is the end and beginning to see these students for their potential. These professionals also have the function of seeking strategies that awaken and develop competences, proposing contents compatible with the experiences lived by the students to assign meanings to what is passed on, aiming at active and interactive participation among peers.
It was verified, therefore, that the work of partnership between the teachers of the common room and the multifunctional resource room-AEE must be in constant harmony, so that the objectives are achieved, so that the work is interdisciplinary and collaborative. This interlocution guarantees the establishment of real and tangible goals in terms of development, but also makes it possible to evaluate the student with disabilities according to their achievements.
ABSTRACT
Main Text
Introduction
Methodology
Results and discussion
Final considerations