A tecnologia assistiva envolve serviços, recursos e práticas que considerando as necessidades e habilidades específicas do usuário promovem sua máxima participação na atividade desejada. A educação faz tecnologia assistiva à medida que investiga necessidades e propõe alternativas que promovam a participação do aluno com deficiência nos desafios do contexto escolar visando a promoção da autonomia e a aprendizagem. Esta pesquisa estudou a tecnologia assistiva e sua aplicação em um serviço educacional, constituído em rede interdisciplinar, que apóia a educação de alunos com deficiência física, numa perspectiva de educação inclusiva. Foi desenvolvida a partir de uma metodologia de pesquisa-ação e contou com a participação de educadores especializados e de gestores da Educação Especial do município de Florianópolis. O serviço de tecnologia assistiva foi investigado por meio da intervenção da pesquisadora com os professores colaboradores em atividades de estudos e a partir do seguimento prático de três casos de alunos com deficiência. A ação refletida propôs um novo Design ao serviço de tecnologia assistiva e o referencial teórico estudado considerou especialmente os documentos do Consórcio EUSTAT, do Portale SIVA e autores como Andrich, Clementi, Scherer, Kintsch e dePaula. A pesquisa discute também os documentos WATI e MACOMB e o procedimento de avaliação em tecnologia assistiva SETT, de Zabala. A descrição das práticas vivenciadas durante a pesquisa descortinam uma realidade rica de interrogações no campo da Educação, Design e Reabilitação, apontando novos desafios de pesquisas nestas três áreas do conhecimento. Percebe-se a importância de uma ação complementar e interdisciplinar na perspectiva do desenvolvimento de ferramentas e estratégias que favoreçam o processo educacional de alunos com deficiência física. Para o Design, este estudo apresenta uma demanda real de pesquisa e desenvolvimento de produtos de tecnologia assistiva para educação. A metodologia para o serviço de tecnologia assistiva, que resulta como produto final desta pesquisa, não pretende ser um modelo pronto e aplicável a outras realidades no entanto ela pode inspirar outras Redes de Educação a compreender as atribuições de um serviço educacional de tecnologia assistiva e construir suas próprias metodologias de trabalho, valorizando suas realidades. / Assistive technology involves services, resources and varied practices that, considering the users specific needs and skills, promotes the maximum of their participation in the desired task. The education provides assistive technology as it investigates the needs and proposes alternatives to promote the participation of the student with disabilities in the challenges of the school settings focusing on autonomy and learning promotion. This research studied the assistive technology and its application in an educational service, integrated by an interdisciplinary team that supports the education of students with physical disabilities in the perspective of inclusive education. It was developed with a methodology of action-research and counted with the participation of specialized educators and Special Education administrators from the city of Florianópolis. The assistive technology service was investigated through the intervention of the researcher with the collaborative teachers in studies activities and also following three cases of students with disabilities. The reflected action proposes a new Design to the assistive technology service and the theoretical references studied considered specially the documents of the EUSTAT Consortium, Portale SIVA and authors such as Andrich, Clementi, Scherer, Kintsch and dePaula. The research also discusses the WATI and MACOMB documents and the SETT assessment procedures in assistive technology, by Zabala. The description of the practices experienced during the research present a rich reality of questions in the fields of Education, Design and Rehabilitation, indicating new research challenges in these three knowledge areas. It can be realized the importance of a complimentary and interdisciplinary action in order to develop tools and strategies to support the educational processes of students with disabilities. For Design, this study presents a huge real demand of research and development of assistive technology products for education. The methodology to the Assistive Technology Service that results as a final product of this research, does not intend to be a ready and applicable model to other realities however it can inspire other Educational Systems to understand the attributions of an educational assistive technology service to build their own work methodologies, from their realities.

Submitted by Tamiris Aparecida Fachinetti null (tamiris_fachinette@hotmail.com) on 2018-02-24T01:05:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAC¸ÃO Tamiris Aparecida Fachinetti.pdf: 1335518 bytes, checksum: 78b244f0bced5131187c43b618795da7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Priscila Carreira B Vicentini null (priscila@fclar.unesp.br) on 2018-02-26T12:43:48Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 fachinetti_ta_me_arafcl.pdf: 1335518 bytes, checksum: 78b244f0bced5131187c43b618795da7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-26T12:43:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 fachinetti_ta_me_arafcl.pdf: 1335518 bytes, checksum: 78b244f0bced5131187c43b618795da7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-01-31 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Com a criação de novas instituições e cursos de nível superior, bem como, a implementação de programas do governo que permitem o acesso à Educação Superior embora aquém da demanda, o aumento no número de ingressantes aos cursos de graduação de forma geral tornou-se significativo. Dados oficiais mostram que mesmo com um salto de matrículas no país, a participação de alunos com deficiência ainda é mínima, porque a evolução das matrículas desse público nos últimos anos não acompanha a evolução das matrículas dos demais alunos. Tendo em vista os diversos mecanismos legais criados para garantir não só o caráter democrático da sociedade, mas a igualdade de direitos e o papel primordial da educação para efetivação do movimento de inclusão, esse estudo teve como objetivo compreender por meio da visão docente e dos alunos com deficiência a inclusão educacional na Faculdade de Ciências e Letras da Universidade Estadual Paulista – (FCL) –, UNESP- Araraquara. O estudo teve como participantes seis alunos, além de quarenta e cinco docentes da instituição. Com vistas a alcançar os objetivos propostos no estudo foram utilizados dois instrumentos para a coleta de dados, uma entrevista semiestruturada com os alunos e um questionário online com os docentes. Os resultados sugerem que a instituição não possui uma cultura efetiva de acessibilidade, porque algumas barreiras foram evidenciadas, como a falta de identificação nos documentos institucionais do tipo real de deficiência que o aluno possui; ações de suporte que a instituição demora a oferecer e/ou oferece por meios diferentes do que foi solicitado pelos alunos e a acessibilidade arquitetônica do campus que não é suficiente para que todos os alunos tenham autonomia. No entanto, verifica-se que a FCL tem avançado no processo de inclusão de alunos com deficiência, porque existem algumas ações por parte da instituição que caminham para uma universidade inclusiva como, por exemplo, a existência do Laboratório de Acessibilidade e Desenvolvimento (LAD), os pisos táteis e placas em Braille nas dependências da instituição. Os resultados ainda revelam que 69,8% dos docentes participantes consideram que não estão preparados para atuar com os alunos com deficiência, e que estes se sentem incluídos na universidade por seus pares e quase que completamente pelos docentes. Enfim é possível constatar avanços e limites no processo de inclusão da FCL. / With the creation of new higher education institutions and undergraduate courses, as well as the implementation of the government's programs that ease access to Higher Education although falling short of demand, the increase in the number of students entering undergraduate courses in general has become significant. Official data show that even with a jump in enrollments in the country the participation of students with disabilities is still minimal, since the evolution of enrollments of this public in recent years does not follow the evolution of enrollments of other students. Considering the several legal mechanisms created to guarantee not only the democratic character of society, but also the equality of rights and the primordial role of education in establishing the inclusion movement, this study aimed to understand through the vision of professors and students with disabilities the educational inclusion in the Faculty of Sciences and Letters of UNESP-Araraquara. The study had as participants six students, in addition to forty five professors of the institution. In order to reach the proposed objectives in the study, two instruments were used to collect data, a semi-structured interview with the students and an online questionnaire with the professors. The results suggest that the institution does not have an effective culture of accessibility, because some barriers were evidenced, such as the lack of identification in the institutional documents of the real type of deficiency that the student possesses; support actions that the institution takes too long to offer and / or offers through different means than what was requested by the students and the architectural accessibility of the campus that is not sufficient for all students to have autonomy. However, it is verified that FCL has advanced in the process of inclusion of students with disabilities, as there are some actions by the institution towards an inclusive university, such as the existence of the Accessibility and Development Laboratory (LAD), the tactile floors and plaques in Braille in the premises of the institution. The results still show that 69.8% of the participating professors consider that they are not prepared to work with students with disabilities, and that students with disabilities feel included in the university by their peers and almost completely by the teachers. Finally, it is possible to observe advances and limits in the process of inclusion of FCL. / 132662/2016-7

O presente estudo tem por objetivo avaliar as contribuições do Programa de Tutoria Especial da Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (UEPB) para a permanência e bom desempenho acadêmico dos seus alunos com deficiência no ensino superior. A pesquisa realizada, nessa Instituição de Ensino Superior, nos cursos de Pedagogia, História, Filosofia, Comunicação Social, Serviço Social, Direito e Física, contou como sujeitos: alunos com deficiência, seus respectivos tutores especiais, professores e a coordenadora do referido Programa. A investigação foi desenvolvida se utilizando de uma abordagem quantitativa e qualitativa, sendo do tipo exploratória e assumindo a forma de estudo de caso. Os procedimentos metodológicos de coleta de dados foram: análise documental, aplicação de questionários, entrevistas e registro de observações do comportamento. A pesquisa documental foi realizada durante todo o percurso da investigação, mediante acesso e análise de documentos e informações do Programa de Tutoria Especial. O questionário foi usado para a identificação e caracterização socioeconômica dos alunos com deficiência. A entrevista semiestruturada, foi aplicada aos vinte e seis sujeitos da pesquisa. Já, as sessões de observação do comportamento dos participantes foram conduzidas por meio de vinte sessões distribuídas em sala de aula e em atendimentos pedagógicos individualizados do Programa. Neste momento, procedemos, de maneira específica, ao estudo de caso de dois alunos com deficiência, integrantes da amostra dos sujeitos das entrevistas. Os resultados das entrevistas indicaram, dentre outros dados, que os sujeitos da pesquisa avaliaram o Programa de Tutoria Especial de forma positiva, alegando que o mesmo contribui tanto para a permanência dos alunos com deficiência na academia, quanto para o seu bom desempenho acadêmico. Na análise dos registros de observação, assim como das entrevistas, detectamos aspectos do Programa que ratificam, pontos que contrariam e pontos que necessitam ser incorporados à sua Resolução de criação (Resolução CONSEPE/UEPB N 013, de 07/07/2006). Os dados apontaram, portanto, a necessidade desta Resolução ser revista e reformulada para contemplar as novas demandas da dinâmica do Programa. Por fim, diante dos achados da investigação, levantamos a tese de que o Programa de Tutoria Especial da UEPB é um tipo de Atendimento Educacional Especializado (AEE) no ensino superior, com características e adaptações peculiares, ocorrendo de maneira diferenciada do AEE criado pelo Ministério da Educação, Cultura e Desporto (MEC) para a educação básica. Assim sendo, esta experiência da UEPB, sendo pioneira dentre as universidades brasileiras, poderá servir como uma proposta a ser socializada com outras universidades do país, uma vez que o MEC ainda não dispõe de uma política de AEE para o ensino superior. / The present study aims to assess the contributions of the Special Tutoring Program at the State University of Paraiba (UEPB) for the permanence and good academic performance of its students with disabilities in higher education. The research, made in this higher education institution, in Education, History, Philosophy, Social Communication, Social Work, Law and Physics courses, had as subjects: students with disabilities, their special tutors, teachers and the coordinator of the program. The investigation was developed using a quantitative and qualitative approach of the exploratory type and taking the form of case study. The methodological procedures for data collection were: document analysis, questionnaires, interviews and behaviors observations record. The documentary research happened during all the course of the study, through access and analysis of documents and information from the Special Tutoring Program. The questionnaire was used to identify and characterize the socioeconomic status of the students with disabilities. The semi-structured interview was applied to the twenty-six subjects of the research. On the other hand, the observations sessions of the participants behaviors were conducted through twenty sessions shared between the classroom and in individualized pedagogical attendance of the program. At this moment, we specifically precede the case study of two of the students with disabilities, part of the students with disabilities sample. The interview results indicated, among other data, that the subjects evaluated the Special Tutoring Program positively, claiming that it contributes in both ways, to the persistence of students with disabilities in the academia, and for their good academic performance. In the analysis of observations record, and interviews, were detected aspects of the program which ratifies, contradicting points and points that need to be incorporated into its resolution of creation (CONSEPE/UEPB Resolution N. 013, of 07/07/2006). The data indicated, therefore, the need of review and redesign of this resolution to accommodate the new demands of the programs dynamic. Finally, the results of the research raise the argument that the UEPBs Special Tutoring Program is a type of Specialized Educational Service in higher education, with unique characteristics and adaptations, occurring in a different manner than the Specialized Educational Service (AEE) established by the Ministry of the Education, Culture and Sports (MEC) for basic education. Thus, this UEPBs experience, pioneer among Brazilian universities, may serve as a proposal to be socialized with other universities in the country, since the MEC does not have a policy of Specialized Educational Service (AEE) for higher education yet.

A tecnologia assistiva envolve serviços, recursos e práticas que considerando as necessidades e habilidades específicas do usuário promovem sua máxima participação na atividade desejada. A educação faz tecnologia assistiva à medida que investiga necessidades e propõe alternativas que promovam a participação do aluno com deficiência nos desafios do contexto escolar visando a promoção da autonomia e a aprendizagem. Esta pesquisa estudou a tecnologia assistiva e sua aplicação em um serviço educacional, constituído em rede interdisciplinar, que apóia a educação de alunos com deficiência física, numa perspectiva de educação inclusiva. Foi desenvolvida a partir de uma metodologia de pesquisa-ação e contou com a participação de educadores especializados e de gestores da Educação Especial do município de Florianópolis. O serviço de tecnologia assistiva foi investigado por meio da intervenção da pesquisadora com os professores colaboradores em atividades de estudos e a partir do seguimento prático de três casos de alunos com deficiência. A ação refletida propôs um novo Design ao serviço de tecnologia assistiva e o referencial teórico estudado considerou especialmente os documentos do Consórcio EUSTAT, do Portale SIVA e autores como Andrich, Clementi, Scherer, Kintsch e dePaula. A pesquisa discute também os documentos WATI e MACOMB e o procedimento de avaliação em tecnologia assistiva SETT, de Zabala. A descrição das práticas vivenciadas durante a pesquisa descortinam uma realidade rica de interrogações no campo da Educação, Design e Reabilitação, apontando novos desafios de pesquisas nestas três áreas do conhecimento. Percebe-se a importância de uma ação complementar e interdisciplinar na perspectiva do desenvolvimento de ferramentas e estratégias que favoreçam o processo educacional de alunos com deficiência física. Para o Design, este estudo apresenta uma demanda real de pesquisa e desenvolvimento de produtos de tecnologia assistiva para educação. A metodologia para o serviço de tecnologia assistiva, que resulta como produto final desta pesquisa, não pretende ser um modelo pronto e aplicável a outras realidades no entanto ela pode inspirar outras Redes de Educação a compreender as atribuições de um serviço educacional de tecnologia assistiva e construir suas próprias metodologias de trabalho, valorizando suas realidades. / Assistive technology involves services, resources and varied practices that, considering the users specific needs and skills, promotes the maximum of their participation in the desired task. The education provides assistive technology as it investigates the needs and proposes alternatives to promote the participation of the student with disabilities in the challenges of the school settings focusing on autonomy and learning promotion. This research studied the assistive technology and its application in an educational service, integrated by an interdisciplinary team that supports the education of students with physical disabilities in the perspective of inclusive education. It was developed with a methodology of action-research and counted with the participation of specialized educators and Special Education administrators from the city of Florianópolis. The assistive technology service was investigated through the intervention of the researcher with the collaborative teachers in studies activities and also following three cases of students with disabilities. The reflected action proposes a new Design to the assistive technology service and the theoretical references studied considered specially the documents of the EUSTAT Consortium, Portale SIVA and authors such as Andrich, Clementi, Scherer, Kintsch and dePaula. The research also discusses the WATI and MACOMB documents and the SETT assessment procedures in assistive technology, by Zabala. The description of the practices experienced during the research present a rich reality of questions in the fields of Education, Design and Rehabilitation, indicating new research challenges in these three knowledge areas. It can be realized the importance of a complimentary and interdisciplinary action in order to develop tools and strategies to support the educational processes of students with disabilities. For Design, this study presents a huge real demand of research and development of assistive technology products for education. The methodology to the Assistive Technology Service that results as a final product of this research, does not intend to be a ready and applicable model to other realities however it can inspire other Educational Systems to understand the attributions of an educational assistive technology service to build their own work methodologies, from their realities.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-02-02T13:25:14Z No. of bitstreams: 1 elizetefernandesdossantos.pdf: 662416 bytes, checksum: 61183744e4819726616088a36fde8ee2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-02-02T13:55:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 elizetefernandesdossantos.pdf: 662416 bytes, checksum: 61183744e4819726616088a36fde8ee2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-02T13:55:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 elizetefernandesdossantos.pdf: 662416 bytes, checksum: 61183744e4819726616088a36fde8ee2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-01-27 / O objetivo desta dissertação é analisar se a existência de um serviço de apoio à inclusão, especificamente a Sala de Recursos, contribui para o processo de inclusão dos alunos com deficiência nas escolas estaduais mineiras. Para isso, realizamos pesquisa comparativa entre duas escolas situadas nos municípios de Mariana e Ouro Preto, das quais apenas uma possui o serviço de Sala de Recursos. Para efeito de escolha foi levado em consideração o fato de em ambas as escolas haver o atendimento a um número significativo de alunos com necessidades educacionais especiais (NEEs). Por conta de a escola em que funciona a Sala de Recursos atender apenas a alunos das séries iniciais do Ensino Fundamental e a outra escola prestar atendimento a alunos das séries iniciais e finais desse nível de ensino, para efeito de comparação, elegemos como foco de análise apenas o atendimento a alunos das séries iniciais do Ensino Fundamental, ou seja, alunos do primeiro ao quinto ano. No processo investigativo foram utilizados métodos qualitativos tais como análise documental, entrevistas com professores e gestores bem como observação participante. Dentre os documentos analisados estão a Proposta Político Pedagógica (PPP) das escolas e fichas de desempenho dos alunos atendidos na sala de recursos bem como dos alunos com deficiência, matriculados na escola que não possui esse tipo de atendimento. Para este estudo, tomamos como base o período de 2011 e 2012. / The goal of this dissertation is to examine whether the existence of an inclusion support service, specifically the Office of resources, contributes to the process of inclusion of students with disabilities in State schools of Minas. For this, we carry out comparative research between two schools located in the municipalities of Mariana and Ouro Preto, of which only one has the Resource Room service. For the purpose of choice was taken into consideration the fact that both schools be the attendance to a significant number of students with special educational needs (NEEs). On behalf of the school resource Room works meet only the pupils of the initial series of elementary school and another school provide assistance to students of initial and final series of this level of education, for comparison, we have chosen as a focus of analysis only service for students of the initial series of elementary school, IE, students from the first to the fifth year. In the investigative process have been used qualitative methods such as analysis of documents, interviews with teachers and administrators as well as participant observation. Among the documents analysed are Political Pedagogical Proposal (PPP) of schools and student performance chips served in the living room as well as resources of the students with disabilities enrolled in school that does not have this kind of care. For this study, we take as a basis the period 2011 and 2012.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-07-19T11:51:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 karlacybelebarbosacordeiro.pdf: 800194 bytes, checksum: 8fe1e49e9669dfaa53436a3e5b0cb607 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-08-09T11:56:47Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 karlacybelebarbosacordeiro.pdf: 800194 bytes, checksum: 8fe1e49e9669dfaa53436a3e5b0cb607 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-09T11:56:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 karlacybelebarbosacordeiro.pdf: 800194 bytes, checksum: 8fe1e49e9669dfaa53436a3e5b0cb607 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-28 / Atualmente, as discussões acerca do tema educação inclusiva são bastante recorrentes, pois a inclusão na escola regular é um dos maiores desafios impostos à educação brasileira, conforme estabelece a Lei nº 13.146 de 06 de julho de 2015. A pesquisa foi realizada em uma determinada escola da rede pública de Manaus que atende alunos da primeira etapa do Ensino Fundamental. Foram inquietações e reflexões sobre os fatores que interferem no processo de inclusão dos alunos com deficiência que me levaram a desenvolver a pesquisa, que tem como objetivo geral analisar como ocorre o processo de inclusão desses alunos. A pesquisa tem como objetivos específicos analisar as ações da equipe gestora no que se refere à inclusão dos alunos com deficiência e identificar possíveis dificuldades por parte dos professores das classes regulares na realização dos seus trabalhos. Para fins deste trabalho, pretende-se propor ações que possam aprimorar o processo de inclusão dos alunos deficientes, na referida escola. Assim, numa reflexão sobre a proposta de educação inclusiva, almeja-se responder à seguinte questão: quais os entraves no processo de inclusão dos alunos deficientes na instituição estadual? A partir dessa realidade, justifica-se a importância da presente investigação, uma vez que o gestor precisa estar atento às políticas educacionais, reconhecendo que o desenvolvimento acadêmico e social do aluno com deficiência necessita ser respeitado, pois garantir o acesso do aluno ao processo escolar deve ser acompanhado também pelo favorecimento de sua permanência na escola e do sucesso na sua vida. / Currently, discussions about the topic of inclusive education are very common. Inclusion in a regular school is one of the greatest challenges imposed on Brazilian education, as it was established by law nº 13,146 on July 6, 2015. The research will be conducted in a specific public school with students that attend the first stage of Elementary Education in the city of Manaus. There were concerns and observations about the factors that interfere with the inclusion process of the disabled students which led me to develop the research. The general objective is to analyze how the process of these students inclusion occurs. The research aims to analyze the actions of the management team regarding the disabled student's inclusion and identify possible difficulties teachers will experience in their work performance. For the purpose of this work, it is intended to propose actions that can improve the process of inclusion in that school. Therefore, in the intent of reflecting about inclusive education, we aim to answer the following question: What are the obstacles in the process of disabled student’s inclusion in the state institution? Based on this answer, the importance of the present investigation is justified, since the manager must be attentive to the educational policies, to recognize that the academic and social development of the disabled student needs to be respected and to guarantee that the student's access to school will have also encouragement for his permanence and his success in life.

The deleterious effects of not completing high school in the United States and around the world in the current monetary, societal, and employment climate make efforts toward increasing graduation rates an imperative. The impetus for educational reform for improving graduation rates is even more salient for students with disabilities who graduate at lower rates than their peers without disabilities (Stetser & Stillwell, 2014). To provide the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) necessary to engage in this reform, data-systems with accurate and timely information are necessary. This research included construction of Hierarchical Generalized Linear Models to investigate the individual- and school-level predictor variables associated with on-time high school graduation for students with disabilities. To that end, the research examined the relationships among (1) individual student demographic background variables (2) individual academic and behavioral school related variables (3) school-wide characteristics of the schools that students in the research study attended and (4) on-time graduation as defined by the Federal Uniform Graduation Rate criteria. This research revealed significant relationships between on-time graduation and individual-level variables for students with disabilities including grade point average, attendance, and primary disability labels of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disabilities across grade levels. Additional significant predictors were found at specific grade levels (e.g., socio-economic status and education in a more restrictive environment). Implications for research to practice include a focus on early intervention prior to high school to increase odds of on-time graduation for students with disabilities and inclusion of additional variables for students with disabilities in Early Warning Systems (EWS). Additionally, customizing EWS through analysis of predictor sensitivity for specific populations by school district or school was discussed.

D.Tech. / This research analyses the discourses of students without barriers on inclusive higher education. It is assumed that the discursive practices of students without barriers will affect their perception negatively on inclusive education. This leads to the students without barriers' attitude. As a result the students without barriers believed that upbringing played a role in their discourses. Parental and societal stereotypes blinded them to discourses. Analysing the discourses of students without barriers indicates the need for support in order to go beyond their stereotypes. To confirm these findings, I used qualitative study to conduct my research. The literature is reviewed in Chapter Two to find out what various researchers in previous studies say with regard to the discourses of students without barriers. Six respondents were selected from two different universities, namely the Central University of Technology and the University of the Free State. This was done with the purpose of analysing the discourse of students without barriers to determine if they understood what it means to be supported. The Free Attitude Interview was used as the technique for gathering information from the respondents. The purpose was to find the discourses of students without barriers in an inclusive higher education. This research study used the textually orientated discourse analysis (TODA) as a technique for gathering data. A tape recorder was used as a supplement for information that might be forgotten. The audio recordings were transcribed, verbatim and later interpreted. The spoken word of the respondents was analysed with the aim of disclosing the ideology carried by the respondents. This study is able to conclude that students without barriers felt superior to physically disabled students, as they indicated in their dominant discourses. This implies that students without barriers are positioned with ideology and discourses in so far as their meaning construction of discourses are concerned. Based on the findings, the study recommends an inservice programme to help students without barriers to become aware of their discursive practices. The students without barriers should not allow negative stereotypes and misconception to prevent them from their discourses in inclusive higher education.

This study examined the perspectives that mothers of children with Down syndrome (Ds) hold regarding the most appropriate educational environments for their children. Environments for students with Ds may be classified as inclusive (fully included within a general education classroom with complete access to the general curriculum and typical peers), integrated (self-contained within a general education school, with some interaction with typical peers), or segregated (separate school for students with intellectual disabilities, or InD). A qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews and a follow-up focus group was used to gather thick, rich descriptions of mothers’ perspectives of these different types of settings, including academic (e.g., reading, math) and non-academic (e.g., self-esteem, peer relationships) outcomes for their children. Mothers of children of different ages (N=6) were recruited to allow for examination of how of mothers’ perspectives may change over time or vary with the child’s age. Findings yielded information that can be used to help parents and educators understand mothers’ perspectives on the risks and benefits of different types of educational environments for youth with Ds.

No description available.