Within the educational field, the idea of social inclusion is related to the development of community-based, compulsory universal education, taking the realities of individuals with special needs into account. Inclusion strategies can be strengthened by placing value on informal links and relationships provided by social support networks that aim to encourage participation by everyone and to reduce exclusionary pressures. The present study, for which the empirical basis was the intentions of a group of educators involved in actions to include individuals with special needs, used the methodology of social network analysis to study the potential of this group for organization and network action. The methodology was shown to be valid for this type of application, thus enabling understanding of the role of each player in the socio-educational inclusion network of people with special needs, such as those who stand out in favorable positions for constituting, maintaining and expanding this network.
Education and social inclusion; Social networks; Social support networks; Methodology of social network analysis
