Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Diversity Needs in Inclusive Schools
Other languages of instruction: Spanish,
Teaching staff
Introduction
This course provides the historical, conceptual, regulatory, and psychoeducational framework necessary to understand the evolution and current configuration of the inclusive education system and the different models of educational support for students. It adopts both a retrospective and a prospective perspective, enabling students to analyse where we come from, understand the transformations that have shaped the current model, and identify the challenges and opportunities that inclusive education presents for the future.
The course begins by examining the evolution of conceptions of difference, diversity, and educational needs, as well as the different models of educational response that have emerged over time, leading to the consolidation of the inclusive education paradigm. This historical and conceptual journey makes it possible to understand the implications of this paradigm shift for the way students, their needs and potential, the role of schools, and the responsibilities of the different agents involved in educational processes are understood.
Particular attention is given to the Catalan regulatory framework, which is addressed not only from a descriptive perspective but also through an analysis of its educational, organisational, and professional implications. Within this context, the course explores the key concepts underpinning inclusive educational practices, including human variability, barriers to learning and participation, specific educational support needs (NESE), educational supports, accessibility, participation, equity, and personalised learning, among others.
Finally, the course addresses the different areas of intervention — educational, social, and health — by analysing their respective roles, responsibilities, and forms of coordination. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of networking and shared responsibility among professionals, services, and other stakeholders, with the aim of understanding how to develop a comprehensive, coherent educational response that is appropriately tailored to the needs of each student and their context.
Overall, the course aims to provide students with a comprehensive, critical, and evidence-based understanding of inclusive education, enabling them to understand the principles underpinning it while developing the criteria needed to analyse and transform educational practices from a perspective of equity, participation, and inclusion.
Objectives
- Analyse the different conceptions and meanings associated with the construct of “attention to diversity” and understand its historical development leading to the current paradigm of inclusive education.
- Understand and compare the different educational models and approaches to educational support for diversity, identifying their principles, characteristics, and educational, organisational, and professional implications.
- Know, interpret, and critically analyse the Catalan, Spanish, and international regulatory frameworks governing and guiding educational support for diversity, with particular emphasis on Decree 150/2017 concerning educational support for students within an inclusive education system.
- Analyse the principles underpinning the inclusive education paradigm and understand their implications for how students are conceived, the organisation of educational institutions, educational practices, and the shared responsibility of the different stakeholders involved.
- Understand and appropriately use the main psychoeducational concepts and principles underpinning inclusive educational support, including diversity, variability, inclusion, equity, participation, accessibility, barriers to learning and participation, specific educational support needs (NESE), educational supports, and personalised learning.
- Critically analyse educational policies, resources, and organisational approaches to responding to diversity, assessing their implications for educational equity, participation, and inclusion.
- Identify and understand the different services, professionals, and resources within the educational, social, and health sectors, both general and specialised, involved in supporting students, as well as their functions, competencies, and areas of responsibility.
- Analyse forms of coordination and networking among educational, social, health, family, and community stakeholders, understanding the importance of shared responsibility and cooperation in ensuring a comprehensive response to students’ needs.
- Develop a critical and prospective perspective on inclusive education, identifying current challenges and the lines of transformation needed to move towards more equitable, accessible, participatory, and inclusive education systems.
Syllabus
BLOCK 1: Conceptual Framework
BLOCK 2: Historical Framework
BLOCK 3: Regulatory Framework
PART TWO: AREAS OF INTERVENTION AND SUPPORT NETWORKST1: Intervention in the Educational Context
T2: Intervention in the Social and Community Context
T3: Intervention in the Health Context
T4: Networking and Cooperation among Stakeholders
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
The proposed learning activities are divided into training activities, which are intended to provide opportunities to practise and develop knowledge and skills, and assessment activities, in which students are expected to demonstrate the competences associated with the activities. These assessment activities are linked to the assessment criteria and learning outcomes (LOs) and together constitute the course assessment system.
The assessment system comprises two types of assessment: continuous assessment, which is linked to the monitoring and development of learning throughout the educational process, and final assessment, which serves to demonstrate the integration of the competences developed throughout the course. Both types of assessment are compulsory. Therefore, students must successfully complete all the proposed activities in order to pass the course.
The assessment system is structured as follows:
- Assessment 1: 30%
- Assessment 2: 30%
- Assessment 3: Integrated and Competency-Based Assessment: 30%
- Pedagogical Debate and Classroom Learning Activities: 10%