Mapping Inclusive Education Policies: What Does "Inclusive" Really Mean?

• In Event: Inclusive Education in Curriculum and Contexts

Abstract

Global governance organizations and governments around the world place high emphasis on inclusive education. How inclusive education is conceptualized, however, is often disputed or conflated with other forms of education (i.e., special education). This paper aims to conceptualize the discourse found in global inclusive education policies by drawing upon two conceptual models: plural/universal rights (Mégrét, 2008) and social/relational inclusive development (Gupta & Vegelin, 2016). In this study, I attempt to map policy discourse in one of four inclusion categories (universal-social, universal-relational, plural-social, and plural-relational) in order to interrogate underlying assumptions about in-group/out-group relations in education policy (especially for children with disabilities), financial commitments, and redistributive justice aims in policy.

Author

• Christopher J. Johnstone, University of Minnesota