Students’ voices of inclusion in mathematics education

Abstract

This study foregrounds three students who are regarded by their teachers as being in special educational needs in mathematics (SEM) and these same students voicing what inclusion in mathematics education means to them. In this study, inclusion is defined as processes of participation. Discourse analysis was applied when analysing these students’ voices of inclusion in mathematics education in two inclusive mathematics classrooms, with both classes aiming to include every student in the mathematics education. The three main Discourses which were identified were the Discourse of assessment, the Discourse of being in a mathematics classroom setting, and the Discourse of accessibility in mathematics education. The analysis of the Discourses indicates that they were affected by wider sociopolitical discourses. Furthermore, when inclusion is regarded as processes of participation in mathematics education, the results indicate that participation becomes more complex. Therefore, in this process, both ideological and societal issues, as well as individual and subject-specific issues, must be considered in the educational endeavour.