Exclusion: a reality present in the educational centers of the Regional Western School District, San Ramón, Alajuela, Costa Rica

Abstract

This article arises as a result of a qualitative research carried out with Elementary Education teachers and principals, and authorities of the Dirección Regional de Occidente; it discusses the teachers’ counseling needs related to the implementation of educational supports to respond to the policies of Inclusive Education. The study involved 204 teachers of twenty institutions approximately, 13 school principals and two education authorities of the Dirección Regional de Occidente. The main instruments used to gather data were non-participant observations, semi-structured interviews, focus groups and questionnaires. It was found that teachers have a great need for training, in terms of the theoretical foundation of Inclusive Education and attention to diversity. Exclusion events go unnoticed not only by teachers, principals and other members of the educational community, but often, by the teachers promotes and makes exclusion natural in the classroom, indirectly. Gifted students are not considered part of diversity; findings above displayed the urgent need to offer updating opportunities among the teachers participating in the study, which eventually could provide a better qualified education, as indicated by UNESCO