Students with disabilities in the context of school inclusion: building another school paradigm

Abstract

This proposal aims at facilitating the visit to Brazil of Doctor Professor Isabel Rodrigues Sanches Fonseca, from the Lusophone University of Humanities and Technology of Lisbon, to give short courses, lectures, and meetings with research groups for Brazilian students, teachers and professionals who develop research and/or work in the education of students with disabilities. The initiative came from earlier contacts made during the "8th Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress - ISEC 2015 Lisbon: Equity and Inclusion in Education", in July 2015, when the Doctor Professors Ana Paula de Freitas (USF) and Maria Inês Monteiro Bacellar (Unimep) had the opportunity to get to know Professor Fonseca's work at a deeper level and made the first contacts necessary to establish an exchange with her and the Portuguese institution. The project is centered on the Master's Degree Programs in Education of the Methodist University of Piracicaba and the San Francisco University, but extends to other invited higher education institutions: the University of Campinas (Unicamp), the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), and the University Center Moura Lacerda (CUML). A mini-course entitled "Inclusion and education: looking at 'differences' in an inclusive perspective" is planned to be offered in Unimep and USF, as well as lectures on "Diversity at school and in the classroom: management possibilities", which will also be given in the other institutions already mentioned. Moreover, meetings will be held with research groups of higher institutions and with elementary teachers involved in school research. We believe that the coming of Doctor Professor Isabel Sanches Fonseca to Brazil will: allow the sharing of her research and extensive knowledge about the education of students with disabilities in mainstream education with teachers and students of these programs; initiate an exchange project between USF, Unimep, and the Lusophone University of Humanities and Technology (Lisbon, Portugal) in the area of Education, focusing on research carried out by institutions and researchers on the teaching of students with disabilities, in the context of policies of school inclusion; strengthen the internationalization process of the Graduate Program in Education at San Francisco University and the Methodist University of Piracicaba, regarding research developed both by teachers and students who are likely to do an internship abroad with Professor Isabel Sanches Fonseca and her research group; consolidate the process of exchange between the following research groups: Education and Teaching Work Relations (USF/CNPq), Educational practices and social relationships at school and non-school spaces (Unimep/CNPq), and Learning, behavior, and training (ULHT); allow the reflection on school inclusion policies in force in Brazil and Portugal in order to think about possibilities for the Brazilian schools' reality; share the opportunity with other graduate programs - the Graduate Program in Special Education (UFSCar), the Graduate Program in Health, Interdisciplinarity, and Rehabilitation (Unicamp), and the Master's Degree Program in Education (CUML/Ribeirao Preto). In addition to the stated reasons, we intend to produce scientific papers in partnership with Doctor Professor Isabel Rodrigues Sanches Fonseca and organize a book based on research being developed in these Graduate Programs. (AU)