Moving to inclusion: a socio‐cultural analysis of practice

Abstract

Difference, like nature, calls forth possibilities for developing transformative relationships. According to Keller in 1985, ‘Difference thus invites a form of engagement and understanding that allows for the preservation of the individual. Self and other survive in a structural integrity?’ Moving towards inclusion requires that we consider teaching as relational where resources for joint actions emerge, promoting an awareness of possibility rather than an adherence to limitation. In this paper, I will argue that disability is a way of seeing the world via the social and cultural constructions that prioritise values and bias actions. My intent is that it furthers the on‐going inclusion debate, which at times has polarised positions into the non‐inclusion/inclusion camps. A social constructionist lens will be used to examine the underlying assumptions, beliefs, and resultant practices that describe how educators and students negotiate inclusive practices. As a complimentary focus, the medical and social models will highlight the discourses that inform teaching and learning. Finally, a social–relational model will be introduced as an alternative for conceptualising inclusion.

Keywords:

• disability
• social theory
• inclusive education