Inclusion of Students with Psychosocial Disabilities in Latin America: A Systematic Review

Abstract

A systematic review of the scientific literature on the academic inclusion of students with Psychosocial disabilities in Latin American contextual case was carried out. As part of the process, key theoretical and methodological foundation were revisited and validated in accordance with the PRISMA protocol, using 18 key documents that were selected from platforms such as SCIELO, Dialnet, Redalyc and Google Scholar, filtering the results to ensure the relevance and quality.

 As a result, three key themes were identified from the analysis: (a) efforts aimed at supporting students with psychosocial disabilities, (b) the quality of the teacher-student relationships, and (c) approaches to inclusive education. Overall, the findings point to a shared understanding of the urgent need to move beyond narrow or isolating definitions of disability and inclusion, so that students with psychosocial conditions can be more fully integrated into academic and social life.

The review suggests that a new educational models systems need to be adopted that really include all the students, no matter the disability that they may have. However, it also recognizes that many of the adjustments made so far do not fully respond to the real needs of students. Linked to broader issues such as political decisions, rigid academic structures, or even basic limitations in infrastructure. Altogether, these challenges point to a way of managing education that still falls short when it comes to supporting more inclusive and flexible approaches to learning.