Educational inclusion and exclusion: key issues and debates

Abstract

Educational inclusion and exclusion are primary concerns for governments aiming to advance their societies and foster fuller participation of their citizens. The concepts are framed by a global rhetoric of social inclusion and exclusion that does not necessarily address issues of poverty or the tensions between growth and equity. This article highlights three major lines of critique of the concepts of inclusion and exclusion, arguing that there are no uniform solutions for all citizens due to inequalities, that exclusion and inclusion are not opposing terms, and that inequities have to be understood in their entirety before the concepts become helpful. Policy concerns of educational inclusion are explored. The article proposes pivotal areas around which forms of exclusion are enacted and considers educational policy in respect of specific areas of focus viz. access and governance that will allow governments to promote equity alongside its concerns for growth. It is suggested that without rigorous application of the concepts of educational inclusion and exclusion, actors may overlook the ways in which superficial or nominal forms of inclusion may in fact foster historic and new forms of exclusion.