A inclusão escolar na perspectiva de alunos com deficiência no ensino superior : contribuições da psicologia histórico-cultural

Abstract

The current study focuses on school inclusion in Higher Education (HE) through the perspectives of students with disabilities. Its objective is to unveil their conceptions regarding school inclusion. We also reflected on the contributions of Cultural-historical Psychology within this context. The study, therefore, is mainly based on the theoretical assumptions of Historical-cultural Psychology, which on its turn relies on the Historical and Dialectical Materialism. It is a literature review and field study altogether. In it, we consider man and its relations through social-historical dimensions. In the field study, the control group was constituted by eight students with disabilities, enrolled in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), 18 years of age or above, four from a public HEI and four from a private HEI, both in the state of Paraná. They presented physical, visual and auditory disabilities. A semistructured interview with seven guiding questions was used for data collection which had their content analyzed, organized into categories and, for optimal visualization, expressed in Tables. Results led us to understand the conceptions of students with disabilities in HE with respect to their school inclusion. Such conceptions indicate that, according to their own understanding, inclusion means to have more access and equality whereas they realize that inclusive education within the HEIs they belong to is not taking place. It should be highlighted that this perception is higher amongst students from private HEIs than those from public HEIs, but, for both groups, there are similar perceptions related to the importance of studying in HE, with the expectation of finding a position in the labor market. Results also indicate that students feel partly included, that is, both included and non-included; however, there is a prevalence of students from public HEIs. We highlight the importance of the teacher-student relationship, mainly concerning inclusive education, despite of the duties of the State and the HEIs themselves, herein understanding that the teacher, in the role of a mediator, provides students with the acquisition of scientific knowledge and psyquic development. It is possible to realize, through the results, that HEIs from which the students in this study belong to are not only prepared to include them, by providing them with easy access to pedagogic resources and proper facilities, but also to deal with the diversity of their students.