AN INVESTIGATION ON THE SCHOOL INTEGRATION IN ITALY: MAINSTREAM AND SPECIAL TEACHERS’ POINT OF VIEW, AND SENSE OF LONELINESS IN DISABLED AND NOT DISABLED STUDENTS

Abstract

The Italian scholastic system provides for disabled students a complete social and teaching integration in the classes of the public schools.The present study is focused on the evaluation of the quality of school integration in 36 classes of different schools in the district of Rome, Italy. The school integration of the disabled students was analyzed through the teachers’ evaluation; in each class it was also analyzed the sense of loneliness in the disabled and not disabled students.Results showed a good teachers’ evaluation of the integration process, and the students, disabled and not disabled, reported low scores in the sense of loneliness in their class, although a difference between the two groups was noticed.The present work re-affirm the need to monitor the quality of the school integration process, in order to find efficient quality indicators, and each possible improvement in usual procedures carried on in school systems concerning the disabled students integration.

Keywords

• School integration
• Quality assessment
• Disability
• Special teachers