An Inclusive View of the Disability of Secondary School Students

• Main Authors: Cristina Méndez-Aguado, Rubén Trigueros, José Manuel Aguilar-Parra, Noelia Navarro-Gómez, Mª del Pilar Díaz-López, Juan M. Fernández-Campoy, Juan Gázquez-Hernández, José Carrión
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: emotional intelligence; psychological flexibility; prosocial behaviours; inclusive behaviours; inclusion
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/8922

Achieving the educational inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) is one of the significant challenges of the current Spanish educational system. This is a group of students with a high rate of bullying that leads to academic failure, as well as significant psychological and social consequences. Despite the fact that the behaviours and psychological characteristics of their peers seem to influence the degree of inclusion, there is no detail on this subject. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence, psychological flexibility, prosocial behaviour and inclusive behaviour. To carry out this study, a sample of 642 students between the ages of 12 and 19 years old participated and answered four questionnaires, one for each variable under study. The relationships established were extracted from different statistical analyses and a hypothesised predictive model. The results obtained revealed that emotional intelligence is positively related to psychological flexibility and prosocial behaviour and that these, in turn, are positively related to the development of inclusive behaviour. Therefore, the importance of considering the variables under study during the teaching–learning processes carried out in the classroom is highlighted.