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Do Regular Schools in Spain Respond to the Educational Needs of Students with Down Syndrome?

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Abstract

Objectives

The family of the students with Down syndrome, just as in the case of any other child, is the main party responsible for their education, and the main socializing agent, as the family is in permanent contact with the student and knows about the characteristics of the child more than anyone. The aim of this study is to provide information on the educational response that regular Spanish schools offer to the students with Down Syndrome through the parent’s and the teacher’s perceptions.

Methods

Therefore, 218 questionnaires were provided to parents of children with Down syndrome, and 22 in-depth interviews to education professionals (regular teachers of students with Down syndrome).

Results

The results indicated that the parents positively perceived the educational response offered by the schools to their children, however, although the schools shared the principles of inclusion, they differed on the manner that it was implemented, pointing to the lack of material and human resources. They also considered that the teacher’s training was appropriate.

Conclusions

In conclusion, that the families of students with Down syndrome had positive perceptions towards inclusive education of their children. However, although they shared the principles of inclusion, they disagree on the manner in which these were being implemented.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness within the State Plan for the Fomenting of Scientific and Technical Research of Excellence 2013–2016 (DIFOTICYD EDU2016 75232-P).

Author Contributions

J.M.F.B.: He wrote the article, designed and executed the study, and analyzed the data. A.M.B.J: She wrote the article, designed and executed the study, and analyzed the data. M.M.R.: She wrote the article, designed and executed the study, and analyzed the data. I.G.M.: She wrote the article, designed and executed the study, and analyzed the data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teaching and Educational Organization, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Seville, Seville, Spain

    José María Fernández Batanero & Marta Montenegro Rueda

  2. Down Syndrome of Seville Association, Seville, Spain

    Ana María Benítez Jaén

  3. Department of Didactic and School Organization, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    Inmaculada García Martínez

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  1. José María Fernández Batanero
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  2. Ana María Benítez Jaén
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  3. Marta Montenegro Rueda
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  4. Inmaculada García Martínez
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Correspondence to José María Fernández Batanero.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

The data described in this article contains no personal, or personally identifiable information and are not accessible to other researchers as per written agreement with participants and ethical approval. The findings reported in the manuscript are original and have not been published previously. In addition, the manuscript is not being simultaneously submitted elsewhere. Prior to conducting the study, University of Seville approved the research protocol for the study.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Fernández Batanero, J.M., Benítez Jaén, A.M., Montenegro Rueda, M. et al. Do Regular Schools in Spain Respond to the Educational Needs of Students with Down Syndrome?. J Child Fam Stud 29, 2355–2363 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01587-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01587-2

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