An Analysis of a School District's Efforts of Inclusion of Children With Disabilities

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Social Justice and Equity in Classroom Practices

Abstract

Inclusion of children with disabilities is a polarizing issue among practitioners and researchers with regard to where and how children with disabilities should be educated. This study is a critically-oriented discourse analysis that explored how the discourses of inclusion of children with disabilities are constructed, practices are normalized, and power relations are legitimized within a district leadership team. It is undergirded by the framework of Foucault’s power/knowledge nexus and disciplinary power. Findings report areas of commonalities, competing discourses, and contradictions shaped by power relations, normalizing practices, and the subsequent construction and implementation of policies and practices. Implications for policy and research are explained.

Author

• Karen Ramlackhan, University of South Florida