Education of People with Disabilities in Italy: Legislative Developments and Impact of Socioeconomic Policies on Inclusive Practices

This paper presents the growing interest in the living conditions of people with disabilities in Italy, from the 1960s to the post-Covid-19 pandemic period, highlighting the socio-political and social changes within which integration paths are pursued from an inclusive perspective in the Italian public/community school system. It is a complex and articulated process that involves, to varying degrees, direct actors, reference communities, and political actors, linking institutional and social emancipation pathways. The research approach is qualitative and based on document analysis. It analyzes how global economic crises and the development of neoliberal thinking have affected public policies, which, since the 2000s, have reduced state investments and introduced reforms that have impacted schools, the world of work, and Italian society in general. With regard to the schooling of people with disabilities, recent changes in Italian education legislation have challenged the principles of school inclusion, favoring a meritocratic institutional dynamic among education professionals. Thus, the current actions of the Italian public administration have not brought about effective changes to the structural problems of public/community education in Italy.

KEYWORDS:
Disability; Social action; Rights and solidarity; Integration within an inclusive perspective; Legislation