Perception of teaching staff on inclusive cultures, policies and practices in primary schools in the province of Trapani

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to analyse the perceptions of teaching staff on inclusive cultures, policies and practices developed in five primary schools in the province of Trapani. The participants, through a non-probabilistic accessibility sampling, 153 teachers from five primary schools. In a methodological perspective based on quantitative-qualitative complementarity, a descriptive-exploratory survey is conducted on the basis of information obtained from the Index for Inclusion questionnaire and five focus groups. The results show an overall positive perception of inclusive cultures, policies and practices among the teaching staff of all participating schools. In particular, the link between the complexity of the educational/didactic projects and the organisational models of the schools is highlighted, underlining the need to implement inclusive cultures, policies and practices that influence the way of thinking and organising human and material resources. In short, there is a complex challenge towards inclusive education in these schools, which requires a systemic, holistic and recursive change of each school project.