Creencias del Profesorado de Español sobre los agrupamientos inclusivos del programa de Aulas Temporales de Adaptación Lingüística

Abstract

Introduction. The aim of this paper is to assess Spanish as a Foreign Language Teachers' beliefs about inclusive groupings in Temporary Classroom of Linguistic Adaptation program (TCLA program). TCLA program has been implemented in Andalusia, Spain, as a measure of attention to the diversity of immigrant students. It is suggested that teachers who work directly with immigrant students must have a beliefs that support inclusive teaching consistently. The purpose has been to measure the inclusive beliefs of TCLA program teachers using a scale created for this purpose, and relate to the way how they do their support, inside or outside the ordinary classroom, and their years of experience. Method. Participants in this study were TCLA teachers of the province of Almeria. The scale on beliefs about inclusive grouping was applied to 81 teachers. Results. The results support the reliability and validity of this measure. Teachers with high scores in inclusive beliefs develop their work within the regular classroom more frequently than low scores. Teachers with high-believes about inclusive groupings appreciate the environment and interaction with native partners as keys to work in solving social and educational immigrant students' barriers. Teachers with low scores on beliefs about inclusive groupings have more years of experience and see as unlikely that the inclusion of TCLA students in regular classroom improve their language and academic skills, as well as their curricular and social inclusion. Discussion and Conclusion. There are two groups of teachers, one group think is very unlikely that the inclusion of TCLA students in regular classroom improve their language skills and academic and curricular and social inclusion. Teachers holding these beliefs think that little or no intervention is good and the heterogeneity of the classes has been imposed. A second group assumes that the learning problems of students come to a greater extent, the educational environment. This set of beliefs coincide with those of TCLA teachers linking further the inclusion of the program students in regular classrooms with improved language skills, academic performance and social relationships. © Education y Psychology I+D+i and Editorial EOS (Spain).