Níveis de envolvimento de uma criança com Síndrome de Down em contextos de inclusão e Educação Especial

Children with special educational needs (SEN) are, whenever possible, inserted into regular school classrooms. Inclusion brings a series of benefits for both children with and without special needs. The present study evaluated the quality of the involvement of a child with Down’s syndrome included in a regular group of first year primary school in two teaching learning contexts: inclusive education context and special education context. The study also evaluated the levels of teachers engagement toward the child with SEN in the contexts of inclusive and special education. Results showed that the child’s involvement levels during classroom’s activities were more satisfactory in the context of special education. Teachers’ levels of engagement were lower during classroom’s activities in the context of inclusion and proportional to the child’s levels of involvement.