Do students with disabilities feel integrated in their school? Analysis by type of disability and educational stage

Resumen

The social attitudes towards students with disability can suppose more important obstacles for their integration in the community than the derivatives of their own disability. Therefore, knowing how they feel is one of the most direct ways to detect prejudices towards them and intervene with programs to change these attitudes. This study examines whether students with disabilities perceive positive attitudes towards them from teachers, classmates without disabilities and the educative center. They were analyzed according to the type of disability and the stage of formation. Sixty students with special needs, from four secondary schools and the university, participated in this study. We designed a questionnaire to which they answered voluntary and anonymously. Multivariate analysis indicated that students do not feel fully integrated and differences were observed depending on the formative stage and type of disability. This suggests that important obstacles still exist in order to achieve a total integration for disabled students. In this way, the educational context becomes a main theme to give an educational response to diversity.