Integration | Meaning & Concept [Explained]

We explain what integration is in various areas. In addition, social, economic, educational, sensory and administration integration.

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What is integration?

There are various meanings of the word integration. However, as the Dictionary of the Spanish Language suggests, all the possible meanings of said word have to do with the relationship between the whole and its parts or components .

That is to say that generally integrate It has to do with forming a larger unit from smaller units, as happens precisely with the members of a soccer team, with the inverse calculation of the mathematical derivative, or with the acquisition of new concepts by integrating them into already established knowledge.

Thus, every time we talk about integration, in the very numerous areas in which we can do so, we refer to the idea of capturing, adding, adding portions, data, individualities or ideas to a much larger whole, in which, we assume , they would have a place of their own and could be part of something bigger and more meaningful.

It is possible to use this term in social, economic, administrative and educational fields, as we will see separately below.

Social integration

We speak of social integration to refer to the process of incorporate isolated individuals into a group majority or community, often implying their symbolic acceptance, their political representation or the formalization of their ways of life. This is necessary, for example, with people who are in a marginalized situation.

These types of processes are usually of a protest type and are often accompanied by an improvement in living conditions, since the integrated individuals are taken into account.

The specific procedures of social integration can be economic, social, political or even discursive. They all have in common the objective that the individuals of a society form an active part of it, that is, they do not constitute outcasts or wandering elements. Integrating into the full community implies enjoying benefits and fulfilling duties.

Economic integration

For its part, economic integration has to do with the mutual benefit of nations by abolishing fiscal or trade barriers in a reciprocal and organized manner that could separate their economies. This integration occurs following treaties and conventions.

Thus, integration occurs between the economies of different countries, forming more powerful economic blocks, thanks to which they can sign more demanding international treaties, and moving towards the mutual benefit of the associated nations. In some cases, organizations also go through economic integration processes.

Currently there are numerous economic integration blocks, such as the 'Euro' Zone in Europe, Mercosur, the Andean Pact among many others, thanks to which countries can organize themselves regionally around principles of mutual economic development.

For example, there is often a lot of talk about Latin American integration, not only economic, but also political and social, given the historical and cultural similarities between the nations of this region.

Integration in administration

In the administrative area, on the other hand, it is common to speak of integration to refer to the obtaining and articulation of the different resources necessary for the proper functioning of an organization or a company, that is, as a synonym for aggregation to the company or incorporation. to it. These administrative integration processes are classified into two different types:

Integration of human resources. Or the recruitment of qualified personnel to perform the different tasks of the company, at the different necessary levels, based on a circuit of processes that includes recruitment (approaching people to the company), selection (choosing the most suitable for each vacant position), introduction (suitability of the candidate to the company) and development (promotion of the employee's growth within the company).
Integration of material resources. Also known as the purchasing process, in which the essential goods are acquired to start or sustain the operation of the company, whether they are tools (machinery, furniture, locations), services (maintenance, updating) or financial resources (capital and financing). .

Educational integration

education integration — Educational integration takes into account the particular characteristics of each child.

Integration in education (generally linked to the beginning of schooling) is the series of processes and provisions that aim adapt the child to the community and the educational process . It takes into account their family, social and economic context, through case studies, progress monitoring and various types of study incentives.

This is a complex dynamic, especially in cases of special education for various reasons. Seen this way, educational integration is the opening of the main or majority pattern of formal education, to accommodate the individual needs of each child thus managing to capture and recover those who could be more likely to drop out of school.

Sensory integration

The Sensory Integration Theory was created by the American neuroscientist A. Jean Ayres in the 1970s based on studies of children with learning difficulties. According to this theory, sensory integration is the neurological process of organizing information reported by the senses, to orchestrate a unified panorama of being and context.

According to this, the observable way in which human beings behave (called final product) has to do directly with the functioning of the different sensory systems of the body, and with the capacity for organized integration that the brain can make of various stimuli .

Thus, an occupational therapist trained in the subject could propose to a child with difficulties in learning, concentrating, mentally organizing or even with self-esteem weaknesses, a series of sensory experiences to strengthen their sensory integration processes.

For more information about it, we can take a look here.