Construction of a Participatory Model of School Accompaniment to Improve School Inclusion

Abstract

This article presents research that examines how the processes of school change and improvement are promoted in those Spanish schools that are developing educational projects based on an inclusive, participatory and democratic model. The aim is to investigate the key elements involved in the processes of accompaniment of those schools that initiate processes of improvement and change from an inclusive approach, as well as the relationships established among them. Methodologically, this is a phenomenological study developed in two consecutive phases: in the first phase, the key elements are identified from the perspective of 24 inclusive education researchers participating in four focus groups and in the second phase, the study delves into their characteristic features and the relationship between them from the perspective of 19 professionals and researchers through 9 heterogeneous thematic focus groups. The analysis provides an integrated view of the actors involved: teachers, school management team, education authorities and researchers. The results show and define 8 key factors and present a model, collaboratively constructed, that links these key elements to develop more inclusive schools and helps to problematise them in order to build knowledge about what inclusive education means in a situated way.

Keywords

• accompaniment
• improvement
• inclusive education
• participation
• model