Inclusion for the 21st Century: Why We Need Disabilities Studies in Education

Abstract

The history of inclusive school policies and practices in both Italy and the United States suggest that inclusion is not something we achieve once and for all, but instead must continually be won. In this chapter I describe some of the challenges that both US and Italy have faced in enacting inclusive policies. I argue for the need to be mindful of the ways schools are sites in which the gravitational
pull towards exclusion must be persistently countered and resisted by an ever-expanding impulse toward inclusion. I conclude the article by suggesting ways that disability studies in education can provide important insights for how to counteract the tenacious pull toward exclusion and to enact an expanded and more robust vision of inclusion.