Participation and rights of children with Specific Needs of Educational Support in Castilla y León (Spain): bridging the gap between policies and practices

ABSTRACT

The administration of the Spanish State is based on a decentralised model consisting of 17 autonomous regions. Castilla y León represents the largest region in Spain and the third largest in the European Union. Our analysis of both national and regional (Castilla y León) legislation on the rights of children and youth with Specific Needs of Educational Support (SNES) to participate in education suggests that the relevant legislation incorporates the minimum standards proposed by various international organisations (UNCRC, UNCRPD). Nevertheless, socio-educational organisations and researchers report limitations and setbacks to the participation of children and young people in Castilla y León, which especially impact on children with SNES: no representation on Primary and Special Education School Boards, socio-economic segregation at some schools, and scarce social participation with disadvantages for girls and other vulnerable groups. In view of these challenges, we set out to ascertain the impact of legislation on the rights of children, by listening to the voices of children with SNES. Our research, a replication of a British project, is adapted to our region. We expect to perform comparative analyses, to learn from other examples of good practice, and to offer innovative proposals for international implementation and dissemination.

KEYWORDS:

• Rights of the child
• participation
• inclusive education
• special educational needs
• Castilla y León
• Spain

Acknowledgements

We express our thanks in the first place to Professor Sheila Riddell for her generosity when facilitating the replica of her project, and for sharing her knowledge, resources, and enthusiasm.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Raquel Casado-Muñoz is a lecturer in Teacher Training for Inclusive Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Burgos, Spain. She holds a PhD in Pedagogy, with an extraordinary Doctorate Award. She has directed the Institute of Educational Training and Innovation at the same University (2008/2012). Her research focuses on teacher training for inclusion, educational innovation and promotion of inclusive schools. She has been coordinating the Research Group EDINTEC (Education, Inclusion and Technology) for 5 years, managing a number of international, regional and local projects.

Fernando Lezcano-Barbero is a lecturer at the University of Burgos and teaches on issues relating to vulnerable social groups. He holds a PhD in Pedagogy. He is an expert in educational intervention with qualitative research methodology and he is also a member of the EDINTEC research group. Before working at the university, his professional development was focused on young people and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Mª Esther Baños-García is a lecturer at the Engineering Graphics and Pedagogical Design of Multimedia Applications at Polytechnic School and at the Faculties of Education, University of Burgos, Spain. She has a degree in Industrial Engineering and a PhD in Education. Her research interests focus on the development of new methodologies for the improvement of learning abilities by using Multimedia Resources as well as on the design of Multimedia Applications and 2D-3D animations aimed at the development of these learning abilities and skills.

ORCID

Raquel Casado-Muñoz http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9070-6298

Fernando Lezcano-Barbero http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7866-071X

M. Esther Baños-García http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8251-2365

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Junta of Castilla y León under [grant number BU074G18] through the Call for Subventions allocated to the support of Research Groups of the Public Universities of Castilla y León.