Tracing textual silences and ideological tensions in adopted inclusive education legislation in China

Abstract

A substantial body of literature exists on inclusive education practices in large countries like China, ranging from the introduction of laws and regulations to cross-country comparisons of the implementation of policies. Yet, little is known about the potential role that legal documents play in shaping ideological assumptions and actions among stakeholders, including parents. The authors used critical discourse analysis (van Dijk, 1993) as an analytic guide for exploring explicated and implied meanings within both legal texts associated with China's “learning in the regular classroom” (LRC) model as well as reported data from parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) about their experiences advocating for inclusive education in China through interpretative phenomenological analysis (Eatough & Smith, 2017). By examining the connections between discursive practice and social structures embedded in an institutional use of legal discourse and delving into the unique experiences of parents as insiders, the authors discovered not only that textual silence exists in LRC model legal texts regarding obligation, text precision, and dispute resolution but that it also influenced parents of children with ASD as they navigated and advocated for their children under the LRC model. This study is an extension of an earlier investigation of parental perspectives (Zhang, Qian & Singer, 2022). By revealing the typically obscured assumptions and implications of educational policies, our study demonstrates the potential significance and benefits of conducting similar research in different national contexts.