Raising inclusion through an online community

Abstract

The inclusion of children with deafness may be enhanced by the use of social web tools. In this scenario, building collaborative relationships among the school community as a whole is a very important process, being crucial to better understand the role of families in potentiating learning in the different contexts beyond school. This study aims to understand how the social web can facilitate the development of these communities by enhancing the learning of new skills by parents, students and professionals. Following a two cycle action research methodology, the authors developed and analyzed the evolutionary dynamics of an online community at a public school with students with deafness and identified drivers of change and improvement. Evidence was collected as to the added value of using the online community for the communication between parents and professionals and between parents and children, generating further support for the learning of children with deafness. The results have also indicated the need to promote greater training for professionals and families concerning the implementation of parental involvement dynamics between home and school.