‘A school for all’ in the policy and practice nexus: Comparing ‘doing inclusion’ in different contexts. Introduction to the special issue

摘要

Inclusion of children with special needs in compulsory education is a much-debated issue in variousnational contexts – and thus across differing educational systems – in relation to how to achieve everychild’s right to education. At a policy level, this issueis a self-evident part of discourses on education andschooling in democratic societies, manifested indocuments such as the Salamanca declaration. Sincethe 1994 Salamanca Statement (initiated by theUNESCO), inclusive education has been high on theglobal agenda. Moreover, a framework for the implementation of this aim was set up in the 2015 IncheonDeclaration1 – intended to ensure inclusive and quality education for all by 2030. Article 24 of the UNConvention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities2 guarantees the right of persons with disabilities to an inclusive education system at all levels(T?ssebro et al., 2020). However, the issue is evenmore complicated. General education in publicschools is inherently complex, even apart from theambition to make it accessible for all, and changeoccurs very slowly (TyackandCuban, 1995). Asa result, it is not surprising that the developmenttowards the 'school for all’ is slow.