A puzzling matter : special schools, justice, and inclusion.

Abstract

Inclusion, understood as all children receiving their education in their local regular
 school, is promoted almost universally as both a moral and a political imperative.
 From this perspective inclusion, and only inclusion, is equated with just educational
 provision for disabled children and young people. But at the same time, special school
 provision is a feature of many, if not most, education systems. In a policy climate in
 which inclusion is the dominant motif, the special school sector is an anomaly and
 special schools inevitably occupy an uncertain and somewhat invidious position. This
 situation raises a number of questions concerning matters of justice and fairness with
 respect to its impact on special schools and their communities. It also raises questions
 about the validity of the view that inclusion, and only inclusion, can represent justice
 in education for all disabled children and young people.
 This thesis explores these matters from a philosophical perspective and with
 particular reference to the turn to inclusion in New Zealand’s education policy context
 in the years 1987-2005. It examines the realities of the development of the policy
 Special Education 2000 (SE2000) and the experience of special schools under that
 policy. It also presents a philosophically based examination and critique of the notion
 of justice with respect to location that underpins inclusion and inclusive education
 policies such as SE2000. Drawing on the work of I.M. Young (1990), the thesis
 argues that the privileging of inclusion in SE2000 positioned special school provision
 as a lesser and undesirable alternative, and resulted in a state of affairs in which some
 disabled children and their families experienced, or were more likely to experience,
 injustice.
 The examination of the New Zealand setting provides the context from which
 the broader philosophical concerns of the thesis emanate. These centre on the broader
 question of what, with respect to where they go to school, might constitute a just state
 of affairs in education for disabled children. The thesis presents a critique of the
 notion that inclusion is the only educational arrangement that constitutes a just state of
 affairs for disabled children. It argues that the availability of special school provision
 rather than being a barrier can be a factor that contributes to a just state of affairs in
 the educational arrangements for disabled children. The thesis concludes that as
 regards the matter of location, what is required to achieve a just state of affairs for
 disabled children and their families is a nuanced approach that will mitigate injustice
 in their daily lives and reflect the multiple views, values and aspirations they hold.