Development of a Local Model of Inclusive Education for Students with Special Needs in the Exceptional Education Organization

Inclusive education plays an important role in improving the situation of students with special needs. The present study was conducted with the purpose of developing a local model of inclusive education for students with special needs in the exceptional education organization due to the lack of a local model in this field.

This study was applied in terms of purpose and qualitative in terms of execution method. The research community was professors and experts in educational management and psychology of exceptional children in the field of inclusive education in Tehran in 2020-21, and 10 people were selected as a sample using the purposeful sampling method according to the principle of theoretical saturation. The tool of the present study was a semi-structured interview, which its validity was confirmed by the opinion of experts and its reliability was calculated by the coefficient of agreement between two coders at 0.85. TO analyze data, the method of coding and thematic analysis was used in MAXQDA version 20 software

The findings indicated that the local model of inclusive education for students with special needs had 40 indicators, 16 components and 7 categories; so that the categories included the development of cultural capital, development of human resources, communication between family and school, preparation of educational infrastructure, response to educational needs, continuous monitoring and follow-up, and continuous interaction with education. Finally, the local model of inclusive education for students with special needs was designed and developed in the exceptional education organization.

The results of this research can be used by specialists and planners of exceptional education. Through planning to improve the components and categories identified in the current research, they can provide the basis for improving inclusive education for students with special needs in exceptional education organizations.