Inclusive education and its fundamental characteristics: A reflection on the evidence-based approach

Abstract

Introduction: Political appeal and social pressure, combined with law ambiguity and lack of resources, to avoid the hard decisions, often have brought to a simplified model of inclusive education and to an apparently simplistic solution: opting for the location of education for children with special educational needs and dis¬abilities instead of tackling the routes of the problem. Scope: Within this context, the current research aims to explore the fundamental characteristics of inclusive education, highlighting the bio-psycho-social evidence-based approach in education. Method: The method applied in the present work is explorative-reflective research on what can be regarded as inclusive education, education for all, and social capital psychoeducation as benchmarks for an integrative society. Findings and Conclusions: This research concludes that the inclusive education is not an emergency-adaptive pedagogy but has to be conceived as a medical psycho-pedagogy of raising awareness in healthy personalities and social inclusion, not shunning differences but observing them and seeking to offer to everyone the best opportunities for personal and community growth. Compared to the traditional concept of inclusion, the theoretical perspective of evidence-based approach has a much broader scope and it embraces the fact that inclusive education carries intrinsically also a risk of exclusion that must be actively prevented, and at the same time affirms the importance of involving all actors in creating a truly welcoming community, which must become sensitive to the full range of differences present in children's life.

Keywords

• community-school practices
• education for all
• evidence-based approach
• inclusive education
• psychoeducation