The social representation about handicapped students in inclusive education: the view of children

Historically excluded, handicapped people have been socially included through new standards guided by egalitarian principles. The Social Representation Theory, which studies how the common sense builds “theories” about relevant objects, was used to answer how this situation affects children socially and psychologically in inclusive schools. We use a multimethodological approach with free associations, drawings and focus groups to study the social representations of 39 third and fourth grade students about their handicapped colleagues, all the children being from a state school in Recife, Pernambuco. The data were submitted to content analysis and analysis using the EVOC software, and the results indicate that handicapped children are seen as people limited by a temporary or permanent shortage or disability; they learn differently from others and disrupt classes; they require constant care and protection; they are allowed to join the group, but not to be part of it. The group seems to be outlining the contours of otherness, which shows a representation under construction