Initially, the special schools were considered “tailor’s boxes” where students of very diverse nature could not be served in the ordinary school. Thus, the use of the term “special schools”, whose connotation was linked to a categorical and watertight conceptualization with a classifying and/or segregating purpose, fell into disuse and the concept of “special educational needs” (SEN) was used.

This phenomenon understands the student’s circumstances as a dynamic and interactive learning process, to which the school must adapt teaching to the individual characteristics of the student (abilities, limitations, learning rates, etc.). With this change, students with Special Educational Needs are welcomed into the ordinary classroom and integrated with the rest of the students with the aim of promoting their personal and intellectual development.

Special Educational Needs

The first contributions to the conceptualization of SEN were not made until the 1960s, although it was in 1974 that Mary Warnok published a report on the state of Special Education in Britain. This fact was the trigger for the application of some first measures in the education system at a global level, mainly:

Teacher training and development

This was done in the sense of guiding this group to obtain greater competence and specific knowledge about the concept of Special Education and the implications of its application. The initiative was intended to provide the group of teachers with a series of official qualifications lasting one year and a complementary economic incentive.

Anticipating Special Education Intervention

Specifically, in pupils with SEN under five years of age, increasing the total number of nursery and infant schools for children with more pronounced educational difficulties.

The extension of the range of action

We also started to work with SEN students between the ages of sixteen and nineteen after finishing their compulsory schooling with the aim of offering them the corresponding aids and guidelines in order to consolidate a greater social and economic integration in adult life.

Educational inclusion

The concept of “integration”, which initially represented a very significant advance in terms of attention to the group of students with SEN, later lost its incipient essence. Thus, this phenomenon began to be linked to the segregation and the distancing of schoolchildren with learning difficulties or some kind of physical or psychological handicap with respect to children without these characteristics.

Thus, the integration process was understood as a type of special education, where the educational curriculum was applied in a unique way . The result was again, and paradoxically, a distancing between the two classes of students.

In contrast to the above, the term “inclusion” replaces the previous one, giving it definitively the meaning originally intended for the previous nomenclature. Inclusion manages to disintegrate the individualistic and perniciously taxonomic vision in order to achieve the priority objective of offering quality and equal education for all students , regardless of whether it presents a deficit or limitation.

This methodological and conceptual change is carried out with the aim of unifying both aspects related to the school environment and those corresponding to the community area in a global way for each student.

In inclusive education, each learner is accepted and valued for his or her particularities, circumstances and abilities, and is offered equally the same learning opportunities and the necessary support to enhance his or her development at the highest qualitative level.

This new model, therefore, is limited to a more cooperative environment, to the detriment of the competitiveness more typical of the integration stage.

Principles of attention to diversity

Attention to diversity is defined as a new way of understanding teaching, which is based on the principles of

Quality education

That is, the guarantee of offering equal educational opportunities to the entire student body once the existence of diversity in this group is assumed , which is inherent and natural in human beings.

Shared effort

It refers to the environment of collaboration and commitment between the parties that make up the educational community.

Convergent European Educational Area

In this context shared objectives are established and agreed upon within the education system.

Under this conception, the Law of “Equity in Education” is proposed, which aims to provide students with SEN with a series of supports of various kinds that guarantee a quality educational learning process. These aids refer to both material and personal resources granted to centres and families, to the elaboration of specific educational programmes and to the flexibility in each of the stages of the educational system.

The ultimate goal of this proposal is to show a greater personalization in the teaching process adapted to the particularities of each school.

Pedagogical Intervention in Attention to Diversity

In order to achieve the objective of inclusive education and follow the principles of attention to diversity, the following strategies are proposed from the field of psychopedagogy to be applied in the classroom context:

Working in pairs or small groups

This resource has the advantage of encouraging both peer interaction and the sharing of joint experiences, as well as allowing the contributions of a given student to complement those offered by another, so that greater enrichment is achieved during the learning process.

The possible effect of “settling in the deficit” that the most limited students may have should be taken into account in the event that the requirement on the part of the teacher is not equitable for all students equally.

Working in the corners

The division of the classroom into different stations or learning corners makes it possible to make the learning process more dynamic and to have active participation, since all students go through all the stations, whose activities to be carried out have been selectively prepared by the teacher beforehand.

Flexible groups

Partitioning of class groups according to educational needs, level/speed of learning or the particularities of each student allows for greater use and personalization of teaching.

A negative aspect in the application of this resource is the possible appearance of comparative attitudes regarding the characteristics of other classmates belonging to a different subgroup.

The workshops

In this case, work groups are formed based on students’ interests and concerns . This resource has the advantage of being motivating for the children, although it must be ensured that at one time or another, everyone must do all the workshops in order to ensure more complete learning.

In this methodology, the teacher acts as a guide , which favours the expression of creativity, initiative and greater work autonomy.

Bibliographic references:

  • Cabrerizo, D. and Rubio Ma J. (2007). Attention to diversity: theory and practice. Madrid: Pearson Educación.
  • Marchesi, A.; Coll, C. and Palacios, J. (1991). Psychological development and education. Madrid: Alianza.
  • Tilstone, C., Florian, L. and Rose, R. (2003). Promotion and development of inclusive educational practices. Madrid: EOS.