ABSTRACT
This chapter interrogates the mechanisms of spatialisation and rationalisation as applied to disabled students within the Italian policy of integrazione scolastica. It argues that a spatial reading of an integration policy in mainstream schools may require a type of analysis distinct from the one used for a spatial reading of a policy of special schooling in segregated settings. The chapter provides evidence of how the use of space and place in schools may contribute to the reproduction of forms of micro-exclusion. It presents examples of spatialising and rationalisation procedures stemming from a special needs education paradigm and a normalisation principle. The chapter makes a case that the use of space and place has an impact upon the learning of disabled students. It represents a barrier for the development of inclusion, despite the stated or intended outcomes of a progressive policy to do otherwise. The chapter ends with a series of suggestions and speculations for further research.
