Learning together at school: An inexcusable right and a social benefit

Abstract

Education is an inexcusable human right, and that all children should learn together in the same school is social justice. The study in which this article is framed analyses and interprets, from the inclusive approach, the schooling process of a pupil with a serious disability in her local state school, as well as the success and opportunities this schooling entailed for her family, the school, and the community. The study is contextualized within the framework of inclusive education as a right of all children to quality education, and uses the life-history biographical narrative method. For gathering information, use is made of interviews and discussion groups, in addition to the collection of records. The results provide evidence that inclusive education is possible because it is proven; it is just because it is a right; and it is necessary because it offers an inevitable opportunity for success and learning for everyone. Maria and her family gain in quality of life; her classmates and their families experience and learn inclusive values; and the school and its teachers have the opportunity to reflect on and improve their teaching practices in order to provide all pupils with quality education.