In/sufficiently able: how teachers differentiate between pupils in inclusive classrooms

ABSTRACT

Due to the legal implementation of inclusion in the German school system, teachers face the challenge of implementing the joint learning of pupils with and without special educational needs in the classroom. But how do they do this? How do teachers differentiate between pupils in classroom practices and what differences do they produce throughout these practices? This article shows that teachers differentiate along the distinction of whether a pupil is (in the eyes of the teacher and in relation to the ability expectations) sufficiently or insufficiently able. It can be shown that this differentiation not only produces who is and who is not capable of acting accordingly, but also ensures membership for all pupils, because it allows the teachers to maintain the general ability expectations while at the same time reduce them for those that are deemed insufficiently able. Nevertheless, this leads to the re/production of disability in inclusive classes.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusion
• German secondary schools
• doing difference
• disability studies
• ethnography

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 To be more precise, it is more a praxeography than an ethnography, because it is not an ethnic group but practices that this study focuses on.