Abstract:

Research on inclusive education (IE) documents benefits for both students with disabilities and students without disabilities. Internationally, IE is frequently aligned with the Salamanca Statement and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Salamanca Statement affirms “the right to education of every individual…regardless of individual differences.” IE in Mexico has a brief and turbulent history and research on IE in Mexico is sparse. This exploratory study investigated the perspectives regarding IE among educators and family caregivers of children with and without disabilities schools in Mexico City, Mexico. Results show a prevalent support for IE among parents and teachers. For example, the majority of participants strongly agreed (educators= 87%, family caregivers= 92%) or agreed (educators= 8%, caregivers= 5%) that IE is a good idea to educate all students. Similarly, participants overwhelmingly strongly agreed (educators= 78%, family caregivers= 86%) or agreed (educators= 13%, family caregivers= 7%) that the advantages of implementing IE overcome disadvantages. Further, 94% of educators and 95% of family caregivers strongly agreed or agreed that being part of an IE environment is an important experience for all students. Findings also indicated overall agreement that IE provides educational opportunities for students with and without disabilities, with 93% of educators and family caregivers strongly agreeing and 3% of educators and 5% of family caregivers agreeing to this statement. Finally, 78% of educators and 86% of family caregivers strongly agreed and 13% of educators and 5% of family caregivers agreed that IE provides good examples for students with disabilities to follow Implications for policy, practice, and research will be discussed.

Keywords:

Inclusive education, disability, special education, inclusion, parents, educators, survey, research.