ABSTRACT:

This article presents research data and aims to describe the opinion of teachers on the inclusion of students with special needs, exploring the factors that justify their opinion after six years of the Portuguese Decree implementation which aimed to promote equality of opportunities, to value education and to promote improvement in teaching quality. The study included 244 teachers, from public and private schools of Porto through an instrument composed by 5 vignettes with the description of the children's behaviors. The results revealed that behaviors compatible with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Cerebral Palsy were less accepted. The justifications were placed on the lack of training and time to support the child, due to the need of meeting curricular and achievement demands. It also revealed that the training in Special Education was only associated with the students with Cerebral Palsy, and that being kindergarten teacher vs. elementary school teacher influences the acceptance of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy and Global Developmental/Learning Disabilities. Private school teachers showed a better acceptance of these students in comparison with the ones from public schools.

KEYWORDS:
Special Education; Inclusion; Public/ Private Education