Actively Seeking Inclusion: Pupils with Special Needs in Mainstream Schools

Using the accounts of mainstream pupils and pupils with SEN, the author explores the pupils’ identities and experiences in relation to each other. In particular, mainstream pupils often function as deciders with regard to the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs. The research also shows how the pupils with SEN actively challenge these decisions and seek to influence perceptions of themselves and their inclusion experiences through the practices of self . It argues that existing research has tended to focus upon the practices of integration and inclusion, without much attention being paid to what inclusion means to young people. Strategies for inclusion have to take into account both mainstream and SEN pupils, if they are to have a chance of succeeding. The research presented in this book should prove of value in helping teachers achieve inclusion in the classroom.