Banca de DEFESA: LEILA NAVARRO DE SANTANA

INCLUSION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN HIGHER TRAINING COURSES IN THE HEALTH FIELD: WHAT THE SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS REVEAL ABOUT THE TOPIC

social representations; person with a disability; educational inclusion

The inclusion of students with disabilities in medical education gives rise to ethical, pedagogical, and institutional debates, due to the formative and professional demands inherent to medical practice. In this context, this thesis aims to understand the social representations held by medical students regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities in the medical course, seeking to apprehend the meanings, significations, and symbolic structures that guide perceptions, positions, and potential practices related to this phenomenon. The study is grounded in Social Representations Theory, as proposed by Moscovici, articulated with the structural approach of Central Core Theory developed by Abric. This is a qualitative, descriptive–interpretive study conducted with 122 medical students, who completed an online questionnaire containing open-ended questions about the inclusion of people with disabilities in medical training. Data collection was carried out through a structured questionnaire administered via the Google Forms platform, comprising Free Word Evocation techniques and open-ended discursive questions, including the substitution technique, in order to access content potentially located in the silent zone of Social Representations (SR). The data obtained through free evocation were analyzed using the IRaMuTeQ software. Prototypical analysis was conducted to identify the central core and peripheral systems of the SR, as well as similarity analysis, which made it possible to visualize relationships among terms and the structural organization of the representational field. In parallel, Content Analysis according to Bardin was carried out, supporting the construction of interpretative categories and subcategories and deepening the understanding of the meanings attributed by participants to the investigated phenomenon. The results reveal the coexistence of social representations that recognize inclusion as a right, an ethical value, and a principle of social justice—anchored in discourses of empathy, diversity, and equity—and representations marked by stigma, explicit or implicit prejudice, and conditional positions regarding the presence of students with disabilities in medical education. The analyses indicate that, although structural elements favorable to inclusion occupy central positions in the representational field, there remain contents expressing insecurity, doubts about professional competence, limitations attributed to disability, and individual responsibility. It is concluded that the social representations held by medical students indicate progress in recognizing the right of people with disabilities to inclusion in medical training, while also exposing the persistence of symbolic, pedagogical, and institutional barriers in higher education. These findings highlight the need to strengthen institutional accessibility policies, develop educational actions aimed at awareness-raising, and promote cultural transformations that foster effective, critical, and socially committed inclusion in the context of medical education.