ABSTRACT

In this chapter, the authors examine two key notions: context and power relations. A number of theorists have provided more complete explanations of the notion of empowerment, shifting the emphasis from the individual teacher and taking into account the notion of context. A difficulty with the identification of context is that theorists and researchers focus primarily on the epistemological dimension rather than on the ontological contextual dimension of empowerment. The closure of the system suggests that the school needs ‘to provide for equitable learning outcomes between schools, teachers and students from different backgrounds, in short between variables’. Through international and national tests, teachers are held accountable and are infused in the technology of performativity, which is driven by a concern with raising standards for students and the whole-school. Power in inclusive education has been conceptualised through various realms, such as the symbolic, the political and the economic, even though this list is not exhaustive.