The Dilemma of Inclusive Education: Inclusion for Some or Inclusion for All

Abstract

In this paper, we intend to consider different understandings of inclusive education that frame current public and professional debates as well as policies and practices. We analyze two – somewhat opposing – discourses regarding inclusive education, namely, the “inclusion for some” – which represents the idea that children with special needs have a right to the highest quality education which can be delivered by specially trained staff, and the “inclusion for all” – which represents the idea that all children regarding their diverse needs should have the opportunity to learn together. To put the two discourses in a dialogical relation, we have reconstructed the inferential configurations of the arguments of each narrative to identify how the two definitions contribute to position children with and without special needs and their teachers. The results show the possibilities to bridge the two narratives, with respect to the voices they promote or silence, the power relations they constitute, and the values and practices they enact or prevent.

Enhancing Schools’ Development Activities on Inclusive Education Through In-service Training Course for School Teams: A Case Study

“…More emphasis should also be placed in initial teacher education on how to put IE into practice in a meaningful way. This, in turn, would provide a good starting point to engaging in a constructive dialogue in society as a whole in order to remove barriers between two somewhat opposing discourses, “inclusion for some” or “inclusion for all,” as Leijen et al (2021) have highlighted in their study.…”

“…In this paper, we report on a study that was conducted in Estonia where inclusive education has become an important field of research (see, e.g., Leijen et al, 2021 ; Pedaste et al, 2021 ). Moreover, the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018 report emphasized that, in Estonia, professional development of both teachers and school leaders regarding the successful implementing of IE needs to be enhanced ( OECD, 2020 ).…”

Catering to Inclusion and Diversity With Universal Design for Learning in Asynchronous Online Education: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

“…The literature related to inclusive pedagogy focuses strongly on the inclusion of students with disabilities ( Collins et al, 2018 ; Carballo et al, 2019 ; Leijen et al, 2021 ). Teaching practices seem to accommodate the needs of exceptional students, which may not be fully inclusive unless other classroom diversities such as gender and academic background are addressed ( Burgstahler, 2021 ).…”

Lack of Diversity: Are you part of the problem or its solution?

“…Inclusion has also appeared in various studies and is often associated with K-12 education (or inclusive education) of kids with disabilities. In such a context, the major debate is to provide highly specialized education to such children in a separate environment, versus to provide a truly inclusive education in which all children (regardless of diverse needs) share the opportunity of learning together [29]. Making the concept broader to beyond education, Kelly Gaither [14] defines inclusion as follows.…”