Analysis of the Conceptualization of Inclusion in the National Guidelines for the First Cycle
Heidrun Demo
This contribution analyzes how the concept of inclusion is represented in the preface to the new National Guidelines for the First Cycle, comparing it with the old Guidelines across four dimensions: the explicit definition of inclusion, the idea of inclusion as a democratic process, inclusion understood as quality learning and socialization for all, and the attention paid to forms of marginalization and exclusion. The analysis highlights three concerning developments: (1) the emphasis on self-realization and individual talent, which neglects the community dimension and reproduces inequalities through an innatist perspective; (2) the reduction of inclusion to a normative-bureaucratic device, confined to predefined categories and weakened in its transformative potential; (3) the emergence of a normalizing and assimilationist pressure, which tends to standardize learning and socialization processes.
Keywords
National Guidelines, School Inclusion, Preschool, Primary School, Lower Secondary School
