The Costs of Inclusion
A study of inclusion policy and practice in English primary, secondary and special schools, by John MacBeath, Maurice Galton, Susan Steward, Andrea MacBeath and Charlotte Page. Commissioned and funded by the National Union of Teachers. Read the press release here.
Inclusion is a wide ranging concept and used to cover a whole range of groups who have often been marginalised or excluded from the ‘main stream’ of schools. Our study focused specifically on children and young people who would be categorised as having ‘special needs,’ some of whom may previously have been in special schools. These include physical disabilities, medical conditions, behavioural issues, and learning difficulties. These do not fall into discrete categories as learning, behaviour and physiological needs are inter-related in complex ways and, in their manifestation, not only challenge the skills of teachers and parents but in many cases puzzle the ‘experts’ as well.
Inclusion is a wide ranging concept and used to cover a whole range of groups who have often been marginalised or excluded from the ‘main stream’ of schools. Our study focused specifically on children and young people who would be categorised as having ‘special needs,’ some of whom may previously have been in special schools. These include physical disabilities, medical conditions, behavioural issues, and learning difficulties. These do not fall into discrete categories as learning, behaviour and physiological needs are inter-related in complex ways and, in their manifestation, not only challenge the skills of teachers and parents but in many cases puzzle the ‘experts’ as well.
