La Educación Inclusiva en la Educación SuperiorSituación actual y necesidades de formación de los docentes de la Universidad de Cuenca (Ecuador)

Abstract

Abstract The university of the 21st century faces a shared worldwide, great and complex challenge: the recognition that university classrooms are becoming more diverse and an achievement of an inclusive education. In order to make a contribution in this respect, this research is framed in the theoretical line of inclusive education in the university context, from the transformation required by higher education institutions to ensure attention to the students’ diversity. It has been analyzed the current situation of inclusive education at university level and investigates the real situation of the university of Cuenca, through the evaluation of different dimensions contemplated in the Index for Inclusion related to the elaboration of inclusive policies, the development of inclusive practices and the foundation of an inclusive culture. With the results achieved in this study, we aspire to contribute to the process of development and strengthening of a more inclusive university. For this reason, after the construction of the theoretical framework, an empirical research was carried out in which information was collected through the application of the Index for Inclusion to a group of professors and students from the University of Cuenca. Subsequently, it has been made a documentary analysis of programs and syllabi of the different careers. Finally, the people responsible for the coordination of the University Welfare Department were interviewed. The information obtained has allowed to know the perception of the main actors of the university community regarding the policies, practices and university cultures related to inclusion and, moreover, to assess the coherence of the work done by the different Faculties in relation to these areas. The design of this research is sequential explanatory, combining the benefits of quantitative and qualitative research. At the beginning we worked with quantitative data, then we analyzed qualitative data. The scope of the quantitative research is descriptive, correlational, allowing the study of variables treated in a relational manner. Conclusions indicate that the participants' perception of inclusive education in the context of Higher Education is positive in those elements that involve action and decision making. However, that perception is lower when the indicators are related to measures that are linked to the actions of managers or administrators, meaning the elaboration of inclusive policies. Moreover, all participants are aware that, if we intend to advance in inclusive processes towards university context, it is required the commitment of every actor included. It is mainly demanded a teacher training program that allows to have a series of strategies to respond to diversity, issue which this research proceeds with a contextualized proposal.