The Experience of Inclusion in Danish Schools – between Politicization and Pedagogical Ideals

• In Event: Conceptualizations and possibilities of inclusion and diversity in education

Proposal

Pedagogical practices such as inclusive education do not occur in a vacuum: they are situated in certain cultural-historical contexts and are partly constituted by these contexts. This paper discusses inclusion in a Danish context from two separate but interrelated perspectives. Firstly, the notion of inclusive education in Danish educational policy and practice will be analyzed and discussed with an emphasis on the apparent alignment between the inclusive education agenda and the neoliberal policy call for excellence and accountability in Danish educational policy, which encompasses increased standardization, assessment and a tendency to reduce the notion of inclusion to a simple question of achievement. The paper then discusses the societal experience of inclusion as being situated between politicization, where inclusive education can be viewed as an instrument for societal change, and pedagogical, philosophical, and ethical ideals. Furthermore, the paper proposes that inclusive educational practice and policy in Denmark can be characterized by an unbalanced focus on the resource distribution and achievement rather than on students’ subjective sense of belonging. In this way, the paper addresses the fundamental question inspired by Gert Biesta: what is inclusive education for?

Author

• Thomas Thyrring Engsig, UC of Northern Denmark, Research Program on Children and Youth at Risk and Inequalities in Life Opportunities