Mudar a lei garante mudança da realidade? Avaliação da política de educação especial na perspectiva inclusiva do estado do Piauí

Abstract

This research evaluates the configuration of the special and inclusive education policy in the education network of the state of Piauí, with an emphasis on access to basic education and specialized educational care for students targeted by special education between 2016 and 2021. The specific objectives include: 1. understanding the context in which the PNEEPEI was formulated - the historical and normative milestones. 2. analyzing the content of the PNEEPEI and the norms that provide for special education and specialized educational care. 3. characterize the state education network in Piauí and the institutional trajectory of special education, focusing on the speech of public managers and documents. 4. describe the advances and limits of the special education policy from an inclusive perspective in the state of Piauí, between 2016 and 2021. To conduct the research, the In-Depth Evaluation approach was adopted, which incorporates methods and techniques from various sources such as literature, documents, questionnaires and interviews with open questions. The study includes a literature and document review, with discourse analysis covering aspects such as the content of the policy, its formulation, conceptual bases, internal coherence, institutional trajectory (national and state) and formulation context. The initial hypothesis confirmed suggests: the need to add inclusion to school culture and the difficulty of adequately training teachers capable of contributing to quality education for children and adolescents with disabilities. The state school system in Piauí has made progress in drawing up its guidelines, in line with the national situation, but inclusion still faces challenges due to the prevalence of the "ideology of normalization". School inequalities are naturalized, which is why it is possible to find a culture that demands that students adapt to the school structure, to the detriment of creating the right conditions for them to remain and make the most of the learning process. The lack of access to specialized educational care is observed in a large number of target students: by 2019, although 339 multifunctional resource rooms had been allocated to 260 state public schools, only 139 were operational; by 2022, this number had risen to 170. In addition, gaps in teacher training have been identified, especially in remote regions, where educators feel unprepared to deal with the specific demands of students who are the target of special education, as they find it more difficult to participate in teacher training that takes place in the state capital. There is also a predominance of the medical model(school pathologization), while the national proposal favours the social model, which seeks social change and the removal of barriers to the full participation of these students. Aspects such as the limited critical understanding of the concept of "special education from an inclusive perspective", as well as the inconsistency of official records, can contribute to discriminatory and segregating practices. In view of these considerations, there is a need for more effective policies, including guaranteeing access, continuous training for professionals, raising awareness among the school community, strengthening coordination between responsible bodies and promoting an inclusive culture in schools.