Inclusive school in Chile: A study of change and organizational development in an academic community

Abstract

An investigation was carried out to know the attitudes and beliefs of the members of an educational community concerning the concept of school inclusion. Based on this research, this article reports a study that compares the attitudes and beliefs of the four groups -teachers, education assistants, parents, and students- that make up the educational community of a school in Chile, regarding the main shared attributes that are considered central to school inclusion. To capture the attitudes and beliefs of the educational community, the Galileo method was used, which follows a qualitative-quantitative design. Sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted, and 80 questionnaires were applied. To attitudes and beliefs, the present study investigated three attributes: 1) Existence of opportunities, 2) Respect, and 3) Equality. It is observed that beyond the differences in attitudes and beliefs favorable to the school, there are also some dimensions in which these differences are accentuated, depending on whether it is one of the four groups that make up the educational community. The results lay the foundations for implementing organizational change and development in schools with organizational cultures similar to the one studied. Additionally, a novel methodology is used to investigate critical aspects of the organizational culture of Chilean and Latin American educational communities.