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How is an inclusive agenda possible in an excluding education system? Revisiting the Danish Dilemma
Colling Larsen, Tobias Holloway, Jessica Hamre, Bjørn
Colling Larsen, Tobias
Holloway, Jessica
Hamre, Bjørn
Abstract
The policy of inclusion in the Scandinavian countries is often related to the idea of the welfare state, and specifically to notions of equality, equity and democracy. The image of the welfare state seems to live well, even though structural and social barriers seem to maintain inequality when it comes to access to education. Instead of overcoming the barriers, the politics of inclusion may actually make the gap between ideals and realities more visible. In this article, we analyse the political efforts to create a more inclusive education system in Denmark in relation to these structural barriers. By applying the notions of discourse and dispositive of Foucault, we argue that the policies of educational inclusion encompass rationales and governing techniques directed at the societal and individual levels that may in itself challenge the inclusive agenda. By highlighting some of the political notions of inclusion, we highlight the discrepancies between inclusion as a political project and the structural barriers on the one hand, and inclusion as educational practice on the other. This challenges the previously accepted image of how well the Scandinavian welfare state is doing, especially as it relates to solving the gap between privilege and disadvantage in education.
Keywords
inclusive education, inclusion, Danish education, dispositive, optimisation
Date
2019
Type
Journal article
Journal
International Journal of Inclusive Education
Book
Volume
23
Issue
10
Page Range
1049-1064
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
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Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled