Carla Digiorgio

Inclusive Education: the Interaction of Identity, Power and Practice Carla Digiorgio

Students with special needs have been found to have additional difficulties due to cultural, linguistic, and economic challenges at the school level (Manyak, 2002; Hanson and Gutierrez, 1997; McCray and Garcia, 2002; Gay, 2002). The school in this study faced these challenges as well, due to their mandate to develop minority culture in a hegemonic English environment. This ethnographic case study followed one school over the period of a year, as it implemented an inclusion policy as set out by a provincial government in Canada. A grounded theory approach led to a theory elaboration of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu?s theory of social organization (1996, 1992, 1986, 1982). Bourdieu?s notions of habitus, capital, and field were applied to inclusion, and the results brought new insight into the relationship between individual and group experiences of school for all stakeholders involved in inclusion. This book will appeal to all educators, academics, advocates, policy makers, parents, students, and anyone interested in better understanding the role of identity and power in inclusive practice in schools.