Towards a transformative role of the counselor in relation to new policies on inclusive education

Abstract

In-service teacher training in inclusive education in Spain is in the hands of educational counsellors / advisors in the Teacher Training Centres. The new educational inclusion policies and the international literature propose to adopt more transformative models, as the transfer of this training to the classroom is low and thus, being questioned. This research, set within the field of guidance and psycho-pedagogy, aims to investigate the perceptions that managers, teachers and counsellors have about the new roles played by inclusive education counsellors involved in transformation processes in schools in the area of influence of a Training, Innovation and Resource Centre (CEFIRE) in the Valencian Community (Spain). This is a descriptive qualitative study carried out through content analysis of documents produced by the participants in the improvement processes (self-reports, questionnaires, reports, portfolios, blogs). The informants were 144 education professionals (126 teachers, 11 training coordinators, 5 members of management teams and 2 inclusive education counsellors), all belonging to 9 educational centres, 2 Educational Guidance Teams and 1 CEFIRE. The results are divided into six categories defining the roles played by the advisors in the process of accompanying schools. In conclusion, the authors claim a more transformative and emancipatory role for counselling in inclusive education, highlighting its political implications and proposing guidelines for the field of educational counselling.