Listening to include

Abstract

This paper attempts to make important connections between listening and inclusive education and the refusal to listen and exclusion. Two lines of argument are advanced. First, if educators and learners are to include each other within their educational institutions as unique individuals, then they will need to listen attentively to each other. Second, labelling learners, in terms of what has been deemed deficient within them, can form a barrier to listening to them as speakers with distinct voices. This barrier can deny learners the opportunity to contribute to the culture, organization and character of educational institutions, and, as a result, can ensure they are excluded within them.