The inclusion of students with special educational needs in Learning Communities

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze learning communities as an educational project which promotes the inclusion of students with special educational needs based on the school global approach, its organization and principles.

Design/methodology: We collected and analyzed evidences provided by different participants in learning communities that have students with special needs among their student body. Both data collection and analysis were based on the communicative methodology of research, which has as main aim to identify the transformative components of social and educational realities that contribute to overcome situations of exclusion.

Findings: Results show that learning communities promote the inclusion of students with disabilities in terms of participation in shared activities, acceptance within the group and increase of learning opportunities. When these students are not separated based on their abilities and the existing resources, both within and outside the school, are reorganized in order to educate all students in heterogeneous groups, high learning expectations are promoted and these students can benefit from the aforementioned results.

Originality/value: Learning communities are a project for schools transformation which entails a better use of the multiple and diverse human resources already available in the community, in order to maximize learning opportunities for all students, which in turn benefits students with special needs. In this way, these schools overcome approaches to diversity management mainly based on individualized supports, in order to respond to diversity of needs based on the global transformation of the school.