Inclusion as Social Justice: Critical Notes on Discourses, Assumptions, and the Road Ahead

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to discuss critically the idea of inclusion as social justice. The authors outline the multiple discourses on inclusion and the disparate meanings of social justice that permeate the inclusive education literature. They assume that greater conceptual clarity will strengthen ongoing reform efforts and help educators understand better the intersection of inclusion and social justice in educational systems that serve culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. A more comprehensive treatment of the idea of inclusive education as social justice will enable educators to prevent the historical inequities that have affected CLD students.