Assessing inclusive education in Digital Information and Communication Technologies – DICT era

Abstract

Bearing in mind the intersection of two areas, i.e., teacher education and the studies regarding digital information and communication technologies (DICTs), both thought within the field of inclusive education, this paper presents an excerpt from studies carried out as part of the Professional Master’s course in Inclusive Education (PROFEI), and reflects the authors’ commitment with education for everyone, using DICTs as resources that go towards respecting the fundamental human right to education, i.e, as instruments that can contribute to emancipatory education, and one that considers the socio-cultural-historical contexts in which the agents (educators and students) are included (Freire, 1970); (Vygotsky, 2001a, 2001b). New technologies are part of our daily lives, inside and outside schools, and therefore, it is not a good idea for educators to try to ignore them. In this paper, we seek to reflect about the cultural changes that educational contexts have undergone and about how practices are being ressignified, checking the extent to which they are becoming more inclusive and democratic, by looking at possibilities for technological resource employment. The growing demand arising from the inclusion of students with disabilities in the school environment imposes challenges on education professionals, and requires that pedagogical practices be reviewed so as to implement the necessary adaptation and changes to accommodate everyone. Among the inclusive proposals discussed in this article, which have been considered and reflected upon to better serve human diversity and learning contexts, are the contributions from the Universal Design for Learning (UDL). These contributions reveal, from a social perspective, principles of equity, the appreciation of differences, and ethical care for others, advocating for the removal of barriers in this process.