TRENDS AND CHALLENGES OF STUDY IN SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS FOCUSED ON SPECIAL EDUCATION FROM AN INCLUSIVE PERSPECTIVE

This study analyzed the trends and challenges of Brazilian scientific productions that employ the Theory of Social Representations (TRS) in the study of Special Education, with an inclusive perspective. A descriptive research was conducted, examining theses and dissertations in the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDLTD), from the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (BIIST) from 2015 to 2020. A bibliometric analysis of the productions was carried out, and subsequently, the IRaMuTeq software was used for a better identification and classification of the contents of the manuscripts' abstracts. A predominance of studies in the Southeast and South regions of Brazil was observed, highlighting the urgency of deepening investigations that integrate TRS and Special Education inclusively in other regions of the country, considering all types of disabilities and including non-school environments. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of deepening the study of these domains from different approaches of social representations. This study points to the urgency of a more comprehensive and in-depth analysis of these themes, promoting a broader and more inclusive understanding of Special Education in the Brazilian context.