INCLUSION: Special or inclusive education: future trends

TLDR

The article examines the relationships between ‘special’ and ‘inclusive’ education. The study asks how teachers respond to pupil differences, what knowledge they need, the roles of teacher education, and how to better prepare teachers for mixed groupings. The author analyzes teachers’ specialist knowledge, staff roles, and the tensions arising from the concept of ‘special needs’ in mainstream settings. She concludes that examining teachers’ classroom practices and what they can do is essential to give meaning to inclusion.

Abstract

In this article, Lani Florian, Professor of Social and Educational Inclusion at the University of Aberdeen, examines the relationships between ‘special’ and ‘inclusive’ education. She looks at the notion of specialist knowledge among teachers and at the roles adopted by staff working with pupils with ‘additional’ or ‘special’ needs in mainstream settings. She explores the implications of the use of the concept of ‘special needs’– especially in relation to attempts to implement inclusion in practice – and she notes the tensions that arise from these relationships. She goes on to ask a series of questions: How do teachers respond to differences among their pupils? What knowledge do teachers need in order to respond more effectively to diversity in their classrooms? What are the roles of teacher education and ongoing professional development? How can teachers be better prepared to work in mixed groupings of pupils? In seeking answers to these questions, Lani Florian concludes that we should look at educational practices and undertake a thorough examination of how teachers work in their classrooms. She suggests that it is through an examination of ‘the things that teachers can do ’ that we will begin to bring meaning to the concept of inclusion.