Inclusive education and academic performance in Catalan public schools

Abstract

In response to the challenges of the global Education 2030 Agenda (i.e. to guarantee inclusive and equitable quality education for all), this study was designed to ascertain to what extent inclusive education policies are applied in public primary schools in Catalonia (Spain). The objective was to identify the level of inclusion (LI) of the schools through an online questionnaire, and to determine the relationship of LI to the students' academic performance in the schools, as measured by the Catalan external evaluation exam in their last year of primary education. Our findings showed advances in applying more inclusive education in the 615 participating schools. On ascertaining the LI we classified the schools according to levels of consolidation of inclusive practices, identifying both the most well-established areas and barriers to inclusion. Hence we obtained a wide spectrum of the application of inclusion in the Catalan education system. The study also showed that there was no relationship between inclusive practices and pupils' academic performance in the schools taking part. The rigour of the procedures used and the breadth of the sample can promote evidence-based practices for the development of policy in the Catalan education system and internationally.