Μελέτη για τους μαθητές που φοίτησαν σε δομές υποστήριξης στη γενική και ειδική εκπαίδευση: ποσοτική μεθοδολογική προσέγγιση

Abstract

The majority of students with disabilities and/or special educational needs in Greece attend mainstream schools. Some are supported via the parallel support model in mainstream classes.  On the other hand, other students may attend, if available, inclusion classes, which are a pull-out provision offered part-time, while a small but not negligible number of students attend special schools, which are the most restricted educational settings. The present long-term study examined the number of students in both educational levels who were supported via the parallel support model, those enrolled in inclusion classes, as well as those who attended special schools during 2010-2021. A hypothesis was examined: that students with disabilities and/or special educational needs supported in primary education were greater in number than those in secondary education. Some of the aggregate data were provided by the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, while the rest were retrieved from the Hellenic Statistical Authority. The results showed that the approved parallel support requests increased every year in both levels of education, indicating a dynamic evolution of this model. For example, the approved parallel support requests in 2019-2020 almost quadrupled in primary education and quintupled in secondary education compared to 2011-2012, which may reflect the intention of the State to control and marginalize more and more students. As for the inclusion classes, the results revealed variations in primary education, while in secondary education there was a continuous increase until 2018-2019. However, a rapid decline was recorded in both levels in the last two years (2019-2021). Those variations reflected the absence of a well-designed long-lasting educational policy for those enrolled in the inclusion classes, although this provision is the most popular for the support of students with disabilities and/or special educational needs within mainstream schools. Finally, the number of students enrolled in special schools, which is the most restrictive educational setting, increased in both levels and this was particularly evident in secondary education where the number of students almost doubled during this period. This finding indicated that the lack of appropriate support within mainstream schools may have led a considerable number of students to attend special schools. The researcher deduced that the implemented inclusion policy for students with disabilities and/or special educational needs in Greece during 2010-2021 was rather conservative and clearly promoted conditional instead of full inclusion. In turn, the maintenance of segregated settings, such as inclusion classes and special schools, is a lethargic approach that hinders the emergence and implementation of more progressive approaches. Finally, the full inclusion vision is currently utopian due to the long-lasting pathogenesis of Greek educational policy and the enduring financial crisis.