Distance Education for children with a disability and/or from vulnerable families

Different reasons may hinder the right to education of children with a disability and/or from vulnerable families; for example, living in rural areas where they do not have access to public transport, restriction of opportunities to access schools, precarious economic situations, lack of minimum services that meet the needs of hygiene and personal care, among other reasons. This has made it necessary to implement changes in traditional education systems. For this reason, the objective of this study is to build a theoretical base that facilitates the understanding of the requirements of these children in terms of distance education. To do this, the authors interviewed primary education teachers who work with children with a disability and/or from vulnerable families. A qualitative research methodology was used with the focus group as a technique for collecting information. Ten primary school teachers participated in an interview made up of a set of open-ended questions that facilitated their narratives regarding education strategies used for students with a disability and/or those living in vulnerable families, which were later grouped into categories. As a result of this research, the following strategies used by the participating teachers were collected: recreating the feeling of the physical classroom in the virtual classroom, fostering friendship and companionship among students, designing engagement strategies, and considering the socio-cultural variables that influence learning. The teachers assured that distance education is a perfectly viable alternative for children with a disability and/or from vulnerable families.