Integrazione scolastica and the development of inclusion in Italy: does space matter?

Abstract

This article interrogates the mechanisms of spatialisation (Imrie, 1996; Armstrong, 2003) and rationalisation (Foucault, 1977; Foucault, 1980; Foucault, 1982) as applied to disabled students within the Italian policy of integrazione scolastica (school integration). It is argued that a spatial reading of an integration policy in mainstream schools may require a type of analysis distinct from the one used for a spatial reading of a policy of special schooling in segregated settings. This is because within mainstream settings, spatialising processes and rationalisation procedures are of a different type, and segregation practices are often invisible or less detectable. This argument is substantiated through an unconventional reading of integrazione scolastica that seeks to go beyond a traditional debate that opposes integration to segregation practices and that investigates the theoretical premises in which the Italian policy is embedded. Evidence of how the use of space and place in schools may contribute to the reproduction of forms of micro-exclusion is provided with examples drawn from the findings of two research projects conducted in lower secondary schools in Italy.

Keywords:

• integrazione scolastica
• policy analysis
• disability
• mainstream settings
• spatialisation
• rationalisation
• inclusive education

Notes

The quotations presented within this paper are taken from my research diaries and they present some reflections related to the use of space and place for disabled students in mainstream classrooms.

The word ‘inclusion’ here is a translation from the original French term (i.e. le modèle inclusion/exclusion) and does not refer to the current concept of ‘inclusive education’ but to a more general concept of placement and assimilation of dangerous individuals within the society.

For more information about teacher training in Italy it is possible to download the latest Ministerial guidelines (2009) on teacher education available on line at: http://www.pubblica.istruzione.it/ministro/comunicati/2009_miur/280809.shtml.