Initial Teacher Training In Special Education: Contributions From The 2014-2021 Report Of The Community Action Program Of The School Of Differential Education Of The University Of The Americas, Chile

Abstract

In the development of a professional career in the area of ​​education, the link with the environment implies the contact of the students with the professional and social context within their training. The Community Action Program of the School of Differential Education has been an activity that fulfills this purpose and also contributes to the field of research, innovation and transfer. The purpose of this study is to know the progression and impact through the data and results obtained from the Community Action Program in the Biobío, Valparaíso and Metropolitan Regions. For this, a mixed approach with a simultaneous design was used. The collection of information is based on the compilation and documentary analysis during the period 2014-2021 and the participation of 29 key informants distributed in the three regions, through focus groups with content analysis. With this, a report of the Community Action Program was prepared during its years in operation; Its results reveal a constant growth in the scope of the program and coverage benefits the development of language stimulation processes for children. This allowed ordering the evidence, covering the lack of systematic results, at a general level, to determine its evolution, contributions and progress of the processes it includes. In addition, these findings also show the contribution to the initial teacher training of the students of the Differential Education career who have lived the experience.