The exclusionary effects of inclusion today: (re)production of disability in inclusive education settings

Abstract

Current inclusive education practices remain entrenched in deficit-oriented discourses. An interrogation of these discourses is necessary to enact inclusion driven by diversity and collective belonging. This collective case study explored 10 cases of parent and child experiences in inclusive school settings and addressed the following questions: What disability discourses are (re)produced in inclusive school settings? What are the effects of these discourses on families’ experiences of inclusion in inclusive school settings? Using disability discourses as sensitizing concepts, 5 themes were generated framed in ‘disability as’ statements: disability as fragile, deviant, currency, defining, and affirmative. Despite a shift towards inclusive rhetoric, normative and oppressive discourses permeated inclusive school settings examined in this study. Normative discourses produced the following effects: the Othering of disabled children, governance of disability, internalised oppression, ontological violence, and invisible work. Findings from this study call for critical reflexivity on current inclusive education policies. Points of interest In this study we asked parents and disabled children about their experiences in inclusive school settings. Parents and children talked about how disability was largely viewed as negative by others, which led to the exclusion of disabled children in their neighbourhood schools. Findings from this study remind us that even if a school setting is labelled as inclusive it does not necessarily mean disabled children and parents feel included. Becoming aware of the negative messages about disability operating within inclusive school settings can help schools become more welcoming and inclusive of disabled children and their families.