Primary teachers’ perspectives on implementing the inclusion agenda

Abstract

Inclusion in primary education is seen as an ideological concept where mainstream educated children in the UK will one day be included in every aspect of the schooling experience. The chapter suggests that inclusion is not the only priority agenda and investigates how it can be practically implemented alongside the government-imposed standards agenda. The author offers a historical account of the simultaneous development of these agendas, including the implementation of the National Curriculum, SATs and league tables. In the second section the author details findings from her recent study and suggests that standards objectives dominate the inclusion agenda in primary schools, and that inclusion is limited to focusing on children with Special Educational Needs.