Abstract
Inclusive education (IE), thirty years after the Salamanca Declaration (1994), is still a challenge that requires evidence-based solutions. In Romania, inclusive education has focused mainly on integrating students with special educational needs (SEN) into mainstream schools. However, full inclusion has not yet been achieved. A key role in the successful implementation of IE in schools is played by teachers and educational managers. The present study aims to investigate the factors that significantly predict differences between the perceptions of teachers and of the educational managers regarding IE implementation in the Romanian schools. A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, comparative, and correlational design was used to fulfil the purpose of the research. A total of 1035 participants, including 123 educational managers (inspectors and principals), responded to the Romanian culturally adapted 4th edition of the Index for Inclusion. The results showed that principals perceive schools as more inclusive than teachers. The factors that predict these differences are those related to policies, cultures and practices, rather than age, seniority, gender, environment. Only in the case of younger principals with regard to inclusive school policies was a distinct age-related factor identified.
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