Inclusion, curriculum and the struggle for space in school

Abstract

This paper focuses upon the ways in which physical, cultural and social space is used in education to produce and reproduce particular power relations between different groups in society. The spatial repartition of children and young people among a highly differentiated set of educational structures and curricula produces values and meanings which generate and sustain differences and exclusions. Public buildings do not routinely provide all members of the community access or the use of ordinary facilities. In this way, disabled people are excluded from many public arenas and socially constructed as ‘other’. School rules are powerful mechanisms through, which boundaries can be laid down and defended. Rules in educational settings may reflect other boundaries in the wider society relating to race, gender and political struggles. The school is an important space for the playing out of struggles and conflicts which can only be understood in their wider social context. The increased marketization of education has entailed a sharpening of curricular, social and organizational boundaries and selection practices within and between schools, making the social and political purpose of testing, selection and inspection more apparent. These processes are an integral part of boundary maintenance and social control in a highly stratified society.