Description

This is a detailed account and analysis of students' experiences of inclusion in a girls' comprehensive school. It uses theories associated with feminist post-structuralism to explain and critique the micropolitical processes through which students identified as having special educational needs make sense of the school and of themselves as school students. Central to the argument of the book is a critical engagement with current notions of school effectiveness and school improvement. The author looks at how governmental policy initiatives - on school improvement and SEN/inclusion - are translated into practice by the school, and how this practice is lived and understood by the girls. The book also explores the significance of multiple sites of difference - including social class, race, gender/sexuality and physical appearance - in the girls' schooling experiences. It shows how effective schooling can have unintended and inegalitarian effects for some of the most vulnerable students in schools, and unravels some of the complexities facing students and teachers as schools move towards inclusive education.