Pratiche inclusive nella scuola dell’infanzia: una ricerca sulle opinioni degli insegnanti

Abstract

Since 1982 Italian preschool is characterized by being inclusive for all children, including those with SEN. The research analyses the opinions of preschool teachers about their inclusive practices: in line with the European documents; in continuity with the recommendations to improve empirical research on inclusive practices in Italy and referring to Italian studies related to teachers’ opinions about inclusion and addressed to childhood. This study aims to identify the strategies adopted and recognized as crucial by teachers to promote inclusion in preschool context by using as reference Mitchell’s evidence-based perspective (2008; 2014). For this purpose, a questionnaire was prepared (67 closed and 4 open questions) and presented in a restricted situation to 68 teachers from ten different preschools in northern Italy (sample of convenience). The present research focuses only on open questions, which have been the subject of content analysis by two researchers with inter-subjective comparison and then descriptive statistical analysis. The open questions referred to strategies and examples of inclusive practices, collaboration between teachers and activities in support of the continuity between schools. The analysis of the practices allows to highlight if the strategies that evidence-based literature reports as relevant are effectively applied in preschool and secondly it allows to signal the specificity of inclusive teaching in this context by the teachers themselves.