Youth Matters
Social Integration as a Core of Inclusion of Children with Disabilities: Teachers’ Definition of Social integration
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lily Dyson
This study explores the meaning of social integration of children with disabilities as conceptualized by Canadian elementary school teachers. Inclusion and inclusive education are espoused globally (e.g., UNESCO, 2005; Paliokosta & Blandford, 2010). Maximizing the interaction between pupils with and without disabilities is regarded as an important aspect of inclusion (Koster et al. 2009). However, studies have reported negative attitudes toward children with disabilities (e.g., Nota et al., 2018). To redress the issue, however, encounters difficulty. For lack of a clear goal and definition of inclusion (Lunt and Norwich, 1999), there is a lack of effective operation. Recent research emphasizes social inclusion as a goal of inclusion (Simplican et al., 2025). However, the term, social inclusion, remains unclear, due to multiple and unclear definitions. Another term, “social integration”, has long been proposed as a major goal of inclusion (McCay & Keyes, 2001). The term, though more specific and commonly used, has not been more thoroughly defined. At issue is: What does social integration mean? The ecological model of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) guided the hypothesis that social integration is defined along nondisabled peers and the broader nondisabled community. The qualitative research method with interviews was used to ask about the meaning of social integration. Data were analyzed with the content analysis method (Johnson & LaMontagne, 1993). The result found several themes, two major ones being: (1) social inclusion and (2) community’s involvement. The results would guide the practice and research of social integration and inclusion.
Diversified Teaching for Roma Children: The Difficulties and Results of Teaching
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Elena Kafantari
In recent years, the majority of school classes can be described as multicultural, as more and more students from different nations and countries, with different languages, religions, and cultures, attend them. This intense mixing in school events requires the adoption of new educational practices and a diversified learning approach that responds to all children regardless of their social, economic, or cultural background. Roma children, who have been attending Greek schools for years, are part of this integration. Most countries are culturally and linguistically diverse, yet the school environment remains monolingual and monocultural. The absence of an individualized curriculum renders a school inhospitable, while the prevailing monoculturalism fosters the risk of racism. We explore how schools that fail to acknowledge that these children speak a language different from the dominant one of the education systems, combined with the aforementioned factors, inevitably leads Roma children to educational exclusion and school dropout.
