Banca de DEFESA: PATRÍCIA FERREIRA DE ANDRADE

“INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS” AND INCLUSION IN EDUCATION: 

EXPERIENCES AND IMPACTS FOR/IN THE SCHOOLING OF 

 THE TARGET PUBLIC OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

Innovative schools; Inclusion in education; Target audience students of special education.

 This study focused on the political-pedagogical organization of schools with innovative praxis. Thus, the general objective of this research was to investigate the impacts that school experiences with innovative praxis can bring to the inclusion in education of students belonging to the Special Education modality. The study questions, derived from the objectives of this Thesis, are: What is understood/affirmed by/as “innovative praxis” in the schools participating in the study? What impacts can “innovative praxis” bring to “Inclusion in Education”? Do schools with “innovative practices” contribute to school democratization? How is the political-pedagogical organization of schools that have adopted school “innovative praxis” in their educational routine? Does the political-pedagogical organization of the innovative school contribute to the process of “Inclusion in Education”? What are the challenges for implementing schools with “innovative praxis”? We adopted the Critical Theory of Society as a theoretical-methodological basis for research, supported by the thoughts of Theodor Adorno and his commentators. Aiming to understand the pedagogical dynamics of innovative school experiences, we approach two educational ambiences that affirm innovative praxis: the Paulo Freire Learning Community, a public school located in the state of Goias, in Brasília/Federal District, and the private school: Jean Piaget, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro - RJ. As for the methodological research procedures, we carried out a documental analysis of the Pedagogical Projects of the units and semi-structured interviews with the study subjects (school professionals and students' guardians). As an instrument, we used a characterization questionnaire with them. At the Jean Piaget school, we carried out a visit where systematic records of its school ambience were made, along with photos to illustrate its innovative work. In our final considerations, we identified that school experiences with innovative praxis contribute significantly to the process of inclusion in education, as they act considering the specificity of each student/subject. Thus, we found that the pedagogical practices adopted by the investigated schools are in line with the process of inclusion in education, so that they provide opportunities for participation, criticality and protagonism by students.