Educational integration: a collaborative process

Defining Educational Integration

Educational integration is a strategy used to achieve the normalization and inclusion of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Its objective is to give them the opportunity to live a life as close to normal as possible, participating in regular classrooms and schools.

This is achieved through the creation of conditions for access to school, the use of support strategies, and the implementation of curricular adaptations.

It is a concept that characterizes a school structured based on diversity, with heterogeneous groups and without classifying or discriminating against students.

True school integration involves the need for a school that is open to the diversity of students, without labeling or discriminating against them.

The Values and Pillars of Integration

Integration implies a review of the institutional educational project so that it is guided by the values that are essential for coexistence healthy.

These values include solidarity, justice, tolerance, mutual respect, equality, and equity among all members of the educational community.

The success of this process requires work that is intertwined and closely linked to three fundamental pillars that must collaborate with each other.

These three pillars that form the solid foundation of integration are the family, the school, and the special education team that provides support.

Steps for an Effective Integration Process (Part 1)

The first step in carrying out integration is to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the student, which must be carried out by an interdisciplinary team.

This evaluation should explore all of the student's biological, intellectual, emotional, and social aspects to determine their level of development and potential.

Secondly, contact must be established with a potentially integrative school, which must be selected after a very careful prior study.

This study should evaluate the attitude of the staff towards special needs and the accessibility of infrastructure,