Inclusive Education in Primary Bilingual Programmes. A Documentary Analysis

Abstract

Diversity and multilingualism are two essential features of our current society, which demand an inclusive and plurilingual educational response when applied within classroom settings. The aim of this study is to analyse how both elements converge through the examination of the specific measures addressed to cater for attention to diversity that are included in the bilingual programmes of Spanish Primary schools. With this objective in mind, a qualitative research methodology was used through which official documents (School Educational Project, Annual Didactic Programme and Bilingual Project) from 160 schools were analysed. A system of categories was created to record the most frequently used measures outlined in these documents to provide support to students in bilingual programmes. Our data reveal that 47.3 per cent of schools do not even mention attention to diversity measures in their Bilingual Projects, and when these are considered, they can be classified into three broad categories: measures intended to address students’ educational needs, measures appropriate for the children’s school year, and others of a more general nature. The main conclusions drawn from our analysis highlight, in the first place, the scarcity of inclusive measures to meet the needs of the students participating in bilingual programmes. In the second place, it is noteworthy that when these measures are proposed, they are homogeneously addressed to the whole group of SEN students, without any further specific distinction.