Inclusive education and the arts

This paper addresses the troubled, problematic and contested field of inclusive education, characterised by antagonisms between so-called inclusionists and special educationists; frustration, particularly among disability activists caused by the abstraction of the social model of disability and the expansion of the special educational needs industry. I argue that we need new ways of thinking about inclusive education and explore the potential of the arts for both engagement and political action. The particular contribution of disability arts to enact both these elements and to provoke altered forms of subjectivity will also be considered. The paper concludes with some reflections on the potential for reviving inclusive education through the arts and on the implications for the professionals involved.