Explorando miradas estudiantiles hacia la inclusión: Sentidos y experiencias con compañeros con discapacidad en la escuela.

Abstract

Based on the theoretical contributions of Vargas Melgarejo, Berger and Luckmann, Schutz, and Gibson, this qualitative study explored the perceptions of 70 sixth- and seventh-grade students from a school in Bogotá regarding their relationships with classmates with disabilities in an inclusive classroom. Using an open-ended questionnaire, the analysis was organized into four dimensions: conceptual, emotional, attitudinal, and social. The results show a tension between normalization (“they are the same as us”) and differentiation (“they are special”), as well as a range of emotions such as empathy, discomfort, and indifference, and attitudes ranging from active support to passivity. The school climate appears largely ambiguous, with inclusive discourses coexisting alongside practices that reproduce forms of exclusion. Taken together, the findings suggest that inclusion is an ongoing process and highlight the need to strengthen school coexistence through awareness-raising initiatives, cooperative learning, socio-emotional development, and greater institutional coherence.