Philippine E-Journals

A PHENOMENOLOGY OF THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Bolodo MA.Ed

 

Abstract:

International policies and local laws have been put in place to advance the rights of persons with disabilities and achieve social justice. This rights-based approach to inclusion is aimed at securing them a life with dignity and self-determination; however this top-down approach has provided limited views on how these policies and laws are locally implemented. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, this study aimed to describe the transformative power of an inclusion program from the perspective and lived experiences of eight (8) key informants representing private preschool and elementary school implementing a new inclusion program. Data needed for the study were gathered through a semi structured interview. Field texts which were subjected to cool and warm analyses yielded three themes that capture the transformative powers of inclusive education as experienced by program key players. These include (i) maintained status quo, changed perceptions, and strengthened relationships. Implications of the study to inclusive education expansion are also discussed in this paper.