Predictors of attitudes toward inclusion of students with special educational needs in future education professionals

One of the main pillars in the development of inclusive schools is the initial teacher training. Before determining if it is necessary to make changes (and of what type) in training programs or curriculum guides related to the attention to diversity and inclusive education, the attitudes of future education professionals in this area should be analyzed. This includes the identification of the relevant predictors of inclusive attitudes. The research reported in this article pursued this objective, doing so with a quantitative survey methodology based on the use of cross-sectional structured data collection and statistical analyses related to the quality of the attitude questionnaire (factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha), descriptive statistics, correlations, hypothesis tests for difference of means, and regression analysis in order to predict attitudes towards inclusion in education. Firstly, the results show that the participants held very positive attitudes toward the inclusion of students with special educational needs. Particularly, older respondents, those with a longer training and, to a lesser extent, women and those who had been in touch with disabled people stood out within this attitude. Secondly, it is evidenced that self-transcendence values ​and, more weakly, contact, function as robust predictors of attitudes of future practitioners towards the inclusion of students with special needs. Some applications for the initial professionalization of educators are suggested in the discussion.

University students with disabilities in Universities. A study of their inclusion

Access to higher education has increased among students with disabilities, and universities are adopting different alternatives which must be assessed. The purpose of this study was to identify the situation of a sample of students with disabilities (n=91) who attend a university in Spain, through the design and validation of the “CUNIDIS-d” scale, with satisfactory psychometric properties. The results show the importance of making reasoned curriculum adaptations, adapting teacher training, improving accessibility and involving all the university community. Different proposals were provided which support the social dimension of the EHEA.

Analysis of the reading and comprehension control in scientific texts in high school students

Students' learning process can be negatively affected when their reading and comprehension control is not appropriated. This research focuses on the analysis of how a group of students from high school evaluate their reading comprehension in manipulated scientific texts. An analysis tool was designed to determine the students' degree of comprehension control when reading a scientific short text with an added contradiction. The results have revealed that the students from 1st and 3rd ESO do not properly self-evaluated their reading comprehension. A different behavior has been observed in 1st Bachillerato, where appropriate evaluation and regulation seem to be more frequent. Moreover, no significant differences have been found regarding the type of text, year or gender. Finally, as identified by previous research, the correlations between the students' comprehension control and their school marks have shown to have a weak relationship and inversely proportional to the students' age.

Students with disabilities in a Chilean university

The purpose of this article is to give a report about a research related with the conditions of inclusion of students with disability in a Chilean university. This research is a quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study. To collect the data required, a survey was developed, which was applied to 38 students with disability. The main results reveal a high retention rate of students, who exhibit a positive perception of their inclusion in their university life and also a high level of satisfaction with most of the services provided. Seven out of ten students surveyed recognize having received some sort of education care from their programs to pursue their studies. However, there still exists a lack of connection between the current initiatives developed at the university to support the enrollment and permanence of students. Added to this fact, there is a lack of protocols and training for teachers and staff. In this study it is proposed that the university must establish a management system that defines objectives, strategies and actions that contribute to improve inclusion of people with disabilities.