Formação em serviço sobre gestão de escolas inclusivas para diretores de escolas de educação infantil
Resumen
We live in the context of a global society, in which changes are demanded in all aspects in the
search for a better quality of life for mankind. In addition, there is an increase in the
proportion of excluded individuals and thus there has been much discussion on social
inclusion in political and educational debates. The school, as a segment of society, has also
been facing the task to offer a better quality of education to all children. In the specific case of
children with special needs, there has also been discussion within the concept of inclusive
schools, which should be open to the differences. Considering the current demands,
improvements in the qualifications of school teams is fundamental to assure the necessary
transformation of schools, and the national research on school inclusion has been contributing
to the problem of formation and work of teachers. However, it should be remembered that the
leader role played by the school director has been identified as a primary factor for the
achievement of increasingly inclusive schools. Thus, considering that this role played by the
director requires new knowledge, attitudes and abilities to deal with the current conditions and
emerging tendencies in general and special education, the present study aimed to develop,
establish and evaluate a training program for directors of child schools, from the standpoint of
school inclusion. Initially, a study was conducted on the professional profile of the school
directors and their needs, by observation of the work routine of a director for four months,
comprising 21 visits for observation and analysis of school records (school planning and
statute). Thereafter, several people were interviewed (the director, the teacher of a student
with special needs, the parents of this student, and the pedagogue assisting this child at a
specialized center) with a view to achieve more knowledge on the role played by the director
from the standpoint of each of these individuals. Based on the collected data and concepts
developed by authors in the field of school management and inclusion, a closed questionnaire was prepared and sent to all 60 directors of municipal child schools from the city of Bauru, to
collect further information on the training needs of these professionals to allow them to work
as managers of inclusive schools. The results of this first study indicated that, even though
they have legal knowledge on the policies of school inclusion, in practice the role played by
the director seemed to be characterized by emphasis on bureaucratic issues of the school,
centralization of decisions and lack of knowledge on how to respond to the educational
demands of individuals with special needs. Following, a training program was developed and
established for 41 directors of child schools. The program comprised theoretical issues on the
problem of inclusion and practical activities of management and solution of problems related
to the actual difficulties of daily work. The program was evaluated by: a) tests for group
resolution of the same problem situations, at onset and completion of the program, b) personal
reports on people with special needs collected before the program, c) reports based on a
questionnaire with five open questions on the changes observed after the course perceived by
the directors themselves, and d) a closed questionnaire on the formal aspects of the program.
The results indicated that the program yielded the expected results in the perceptions and
attitudes of directors, at least from their reports. Discussion was based on the conclusion that,
even though such initiatives of training programs are necessary, they are not sufficient, since
the transfer of changes from reports to the educational practices in the daily life of schools is not automatic, which suggests that training should go further and assure follow-up by
collective work and establishment of a culture of collaboration and appreciation of human
diversity. Finally, the way to change seems to be focused on the challenging role of the
director, who must have a firm leadership yet simultaneously must promote collective
processes of planning, organization and development of the political-pedagogical project of
the school