Since 1977 and the law 517/77, disabled and special needs students have been included in regular classes within the Italian school system. This has happened with the support of specialized teachers, who have been given the responsibility of managing the process of inclusion of the students in the class and of supporting the other teachers in undertaking this activity. Nonetheless, even if the regulations emphasizes the involvement of all teachers in the inclusion process of disabled students as well as the involvement of the specialized teachers in all class activities, over the years, in everyday and routine educational activities, the teacher for special needs has been widely acknowledged as a secondary actor in the educational scene in comparison with the other teachers in charge of curricular activities. According to the indicators of the Inclusion Index we note therefore that the condition of the teacher for special needs is indeed a condition of exclusion, within a context of a professional practice which claims and strives to be inclusive. This condition produces the paradox that the teacher for special needs, who should promote and support inclusive processes for disabled students, is herself/himself excluded and segregated from the curricular activities involving the whole class and experiences forms of exclusion inside and outside the school system. For this reason the teachers for special needs have a confused perception of their professional identity, of their role and their function within the professional community of special needs education. Within this framework the paper presents a three years Phd study in the Naples area, aimed at identifying and exploring the elements which, combined together, shape the professional profile of the teacher for special needs in the secondary school system and the connections between those elements, including how such elements shape professional practice.
The construction of a professional identity for special needs teachers in the Italian high school system. A study on the Naples area / Striano, Maura; Grieco, Elisabetta. - In: REVISTA FUENTES. - ISSN 2172-7775. - 15:(2014), pp. 113-142. [10.12795/revistafuentes]
The construction of a professional identity for special needs teachers in the Italian high school system. A study on the Naples area.
STRIANO, MAURA;GRIECO, ELISABETTA
2014
Abstract
Since 1977 and the law 517/77, disabled and special needs students have been included in regular classes within the Italian school system. This has happened with the support of specialized teachers, who have been given the responsibility of managing the process of inclusion of the students in the class and of supporting the other teachers in undertaking this activity. Nonetheless, even if the regulations emphasizes the involvement of all teachers in the inclusion process of disabled students as well as the involvement of the specialized teachers in all class activities, over the years, in everyday and routine educational activities, the teacher for special needs has been widely acknowledged as a secondary actor in the educational scene in comparison with the other teachers in charge of curricular activities. According to the indicators of the Inclusion Index we note therefore that the condition of the teacher for special needs is indeed a condition of exclusion, within a context of a professional practice which claims and strives to be inclusive. This condition produces the paradox that the teacher for special needs, who should promote and support inclusive processes for disabled students, is herself/himself excluded and segregated from the curricular activities involving the whole class and experiences forms of exclusion inside and outside the school system. For this reason the teachers for special needs have a confused perception of their professional identity, of their role and their function within the professional community of special needs education. Within this framework the paper presents a three years Phd study in the Naples area, aimed at identifying and exploring the elements which, combined together, shape the professional profile of the teacher for special needs in the secondary school system and the connections between those elements, including how such elements shape professional practice.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
