ABSTRACT
Inclusive education is now firmly established as the main policy imperative with respect to children who have special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities (Department for Education and Skills, 2001a). It is championed as a means to remove barriers, improve outcomes and remove discrimination. Inclusion is, however, a complex and contested concept and its manifestations in practice are many and various. While some argue that only a proportion, if any, of these examples of inclusion in practice are ‘true’ inclusion, others propose a broader approach. Indeed, ironically, those who may be seen as less ‘correct’ with respect to ‘true’ inclusion may be considered more inclusive of the practices they are prepared to support, promote, foster and develop. Consideration of inclusion, therefore, must take account of conceptual and practical issues and the tensions within and between each domain.
