Abstract:

Considering the characteristics of school contexts, and aligned with the recommendations to EU Member States of the Joint Action for Mental Health and Wellbeing (2016), as well as the UNESCO program and document – Education 2030: Incheon Declaration and Framework of Action for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable lifelong learning education for all (2016), the Order of Portuguese Psychologists (OPP) recognizes school as a conducive environment for the integration of objectives of education, inclusion and health, and as a context with high potential for the provision of ecological, multilevel, prevention and intervention services that, in a strategic and integrated way, promote psychological health, well-being and educational success of all students, children and young people. Furthermore, the OPP views school as a context of development and excellence for promotion, prevention, and early intervention, as well as for vocational and career development, thus contributing to the objectives of equity and inclusion. The methodology adopted in this study is an integrative literature review, a methodological approach that allows the combination of data from empirical and theoretical literature, being aimed at identifying gaps in the areas of study, reviewing theories and implementing theoretical analyzes of studies.

The guiding research question of this integrative literature review was:
How has specialized literature approached school failure, and what contributions stand out to ensuring inclusive schools?

A review and critical analysis of articles published in international scientific journals in the last 5 years is presented. The research was carried out using combinations of keywords: compulsory education, school failure and inclusive school/education. The research considered articles published in Portuguese and English. Ten articles that met the inclusion criteria were read in full. The general objective of the present investigation was to critically analyze and synthesize the literature published in international databases on the topic of school failure, focusing on practices and practices promoting educational inclusion. The specific objectives were: to identify and analyze the main causes of school failure mentioned in the literature, to explore how these causes may be related to the lack of inclusivity in schools, to systematize the current approaches adopted in schools to promote inclusion, to discuss the effectiveness of these approaches in prevention of school failure, highlight the barriers that are presented as impediments to the effective implementation of inclusive practices in schools, recognize how these barriers can contribute to school failure, critically compare theoretical perspectives in the literature related to school failure and inclusion, analyze how theoretical perspectives inform practices, which are expected to be effective in inclusive school environments.

The stages of the research process are presented, recommendations for psychological intervention practices in educational contexts and for educational policies that promote inclusion and academic success are presented.

Keywords:

School (in)success, inclusive schools, psychological intervention, educational policies.