This chapter presents an overview of the main structural challenges facing the Latin American region, as well as the characteristics of its education systems, to provide a contextual framework for the theme of this book, intercultural and inclusive education.
This chapter examines the current educational provision in Brazil, with a specific focus on inclusive education and how this is provided in the country. Students who experience disadvantage due to disabilities, living in poverty, gender and geographic isolation are often most at risk for not accessing education, or being provided with poor quality education which may not meet their needs. Supports and barriers to inclusive education are examined within Brazil's existing political and social context. The role of technology in supporting inclusion is also examined.
In Chile, there is clear progress in inclusion policies; however, during the last decade, there is a decrease in the participation of young people with special educational needs (SEN), especially in higher education. This chapter studies the factors that influence the educational trajectories of students with SEN and their entry into higher education using quantitative and qualitative methods. It shows both how trajectories of SEN students are shaped and the relationship of educational policies in such trajectories.
Over the last decade, the discourse of inclusive early childhood education has been actively promoted in Chile. However, the implementation of appropriate models has been slow and challenging. The purpose of this study is to assess users' perceptions of the inclusive service they received in an early childhood education centre. In addition, it seeks to obtain the ex-post perspective of the education professionals who participated in this intervention, with the aim of providing information for similar proposals in the future. This study explores the fundamental characteristics of the implementation of the inclusive-ecological model in a kindergarten located in a vulnerable area of the city of Santiago, analysing the results of an opinion survey of families and the testimony of educational agents. The research findings suggest a positive perception by family members and neighbours with respect to people with disabilities; they also underline the importance of continuous training of educational staff and collaboration in networks, and show that the model implemented had a favourable impact on the early detection of educational support needs.
A teacher for educational inclusion requires training to cater for difference and competences to identify and remove barriers in order to guarantee the right to education for their students. Thus, this chapter initially addresses the relationship between education, inclusion and teaching in order, in the second section, to show the main guidelines that Colombian regulations propose for social inclusion and teacher training for social inclusion through education. The third section presents three cases that illustrate innovative proposals for teacher training for educational inclusion and ends by analysing the main teaching competences for this purpose.
