ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter we argued that understandings of educational inclusion and achievement are partly shaped by shifting social, economic and political circumstances, whether local, national or global in nature. We suggested that in England, as elsewhere, recent government policies have put schools under increasing pressure to improve the achievement of their students, whilst also encouraging them to be more inclusive. We also noted that these policies generally present a particular and somewhat narrow interpretation of both concepts. That is, inclusion is taken to mean the process of increasing the numbers of students attending mainstream schools who, in the past, would have been prevented from doing so because of their identifi ed special educational needs. Meanwhile, achievement is usually seen in terms only of raising academic standards as measured by national Key Stage tests and other examinations, rather than the broader areas of achievement as outlined in Box 1.1.
