Culture of Inclusive Education: An Analysis from the Management of Costa Rican Schools

Abstract

The development of actions by school principals to promote spaces for strengthening the inclusive culture is a challenge involving the educational community's participation. To be able to attend to diversity, institutions require the recognition of different strategies and the involvement of the educational community in promoting an inclusive culture. This study aims to analyze the culture of inclusive education immersed in educational institutions from principals’ perspectives in Costa Rican public establishments. The study was conducted using a quantitative methodology with an ex post facto and cross-sectional design. Data were collected through an online questionnaire administered to a simple probabilistic sample of 146 principals. The findings showed an adequate inclusive culture in educational centers. High scores were obtained for both community building and inclusive values. However, there were low percentages that require further training on the subject. Significant differences were also found depending on the training received on inclusive education.