ERIC Number: EJ1425629
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0218-8791
EISSN: EISSN-1742-6855
Teachers' Understanding of Inclusive Education: Comparing Perspectives in China and Italy
Lishuai Jia; Run Tan; Marina Santi
Asia Pacific Journal of Education, v44 n2 p503-515 2024
In recent years, inclusive education has become a major challenge for school systems in both Western and Eastern countries, and many countries have been putting considerable efforts into making their education more inclusive. The present study was undertaken to investigate Chinese and Italian teachers' understanding of inclusive education based on the medical and social model of disability. 45 semi-structured interviews were conducted with school teachers in Italy (N = 19) and China (N = 26). Our findings show that Italian teachers understand inclusive education mainly as certain values such as full access, and respect for students' differences and potential, which reflect a social model of disability, while Chinese teachers perceive inclusive education primarily from a medical model of disability, influenced by the Chinese cultural and social understanding of disability. The reasons for these different understandings of inclusive education in Italy and China are then discussed. In the end, practical implications for the further development of high-quality inclusive education in both countries are provided.
Descriptors: Inclusion, Cross Cultural Studies, Foreign Countries, Students with Disabilities, Attitudes toward Disabilities, Differences, Cultural Influences, Social Influences, Models, Elementary School Teachers, Middle School Teachers
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China; Italy
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A