Inclusive education: barriers and facilitators for its development. Analysis of teachers' perceptions

The aim of this study is to analyze what teachers really think about the meaning of inclusive education, and what are the aspects that hinder or foster inclusive education. To do this it was used a qualitative methodology. The sample was 80 teachers was divided into 10 focus groups (most of them teach on primary or secondary education). All the information was recorded, and it was also transcribed, coded and analyzed. The information was divided into 3 content blocks: (1) the meaning of inclusive education, (2) barriers for the development of inclusion, (3) facilitators to manage it. Results revealed two different conceptions of what inclusive education means for teachers: (1) an education just for students with special education needs, (2) inclusive education is for all students. The most important barriers are: high demand training needs in inclusive practices and the shortage of resources. On the contrary, the collaboration among teachers is one of the things that promote an inclusive education.