Specialized Educational Assistance as a School Inclusion Policy in Brazil: A Bibliographic Study

Abstract

This article analyzes Specialized Educational Assistance (SEA) as a public policy for school inclusion in Brazil, considering its legal, conceptual, and pedagogical foundations. The study is based on the understanding that inclusive education constitutes a guiding principle of contemporary educational policies, aimed at guaranteeing the right to education for students who are part of special education in regular schools. The objective of this study was to analyze SEA as a structuring instrument of school inclusion policies within the Brazilian educational context. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative approach, with a bibliographic and documentary nature, and an exploratory and descriptive character. The corpus of the investigation consisted of normative documents and academic productions relevant to the understanding of inclusive education, including the Federal Constitution of 1988, the Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education (Law No. 9,394/1996), the National Policy on Special Education from the Perspective of Inclusive Education (2008), and the Brazilian Law for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (2015). For data analysis, Bardin’s content analysis technique was used, allowing the organization of information into categories related to the legal, conceptual, and pedagogical foundations of SEA. The results show that SEA constitutes a fundamental public policy for promoting educational equity, as it seeks to eliminate barriers that hinder access, permanence, and learning of students with specific educational needs. However, the study also highlights challenges related to teacher training, the articulation between regular teaching and specialized services, and the availability of adequate pedagogical resources.