Inclusion classes in Greek education: Political and social articulations. An interpretive phenomenological analysis

Abstract

Inclusion classes (IC) are one of Greece's most crucial educational inclusion policies. This paper explores the institution of inclusion classes as a supportive educational framework for students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) for their inclusion in the mainstream education system through teachers' conceptualisations. In this research, interpretive phenomenological analysis was used. Nine teachers of inclusive education in primary schools were involved in the study. The results showed that teachers had approached inclusion classes as closed structures with specific clinical criteria for selecting students with SEND and facing institutional barriers. At the same time, participants stressed through their discourse that the attitudes of school community members depend on the characteristics of students with SEND, which sometimes leads to their stigmatisation and categorisation and raises issues of educational and social exclusion. An implication of existing policies is the necessity to incorporate fully inclusive education principles and establish a learning framework of functional emancipatory pedagogical practices.