Social Imaginaries of Intellectual Disability in dystopian accounts of Special Education in Chile

Abstract

Special Education plays a fundamental role in the training and development of people with Intellectual Disabilities (id). In this context, the present study immerses itself in the exploration of the Social Imaginaries of Intellectual Disability, focusing specifically on the significance that Special Education professionals give to their practices belonging to a Special Labor Training Center in Chile. The methodology is situated in the sociophenomenological interpretive paradigm with a qualitative design. The results obtained respond to the process of raising emerging categories where an ambivalent understanding of the approach and evaluation of learning development, the definition of the teaching methodology, experiences, challenges and projections of students with intellectual disabilities is revealed. The convergences point to the imaginary meanings of educational practices, which are permeated by a struggle in the training process, where the social imaginaries of [Progressive Approach] were identified, as well as the [Comprehensive Approach] linked to [Individual Needs] present in students with id. The conclusions of the research include the presence of social imaginaries in educational practices reflected in the aspects of a comprehensive approach to the student with id projected towards the autonomous life of students in society.