The inclusion challenge

introduction The inclusion of all children in mainstream schools has been adopted as a key educational policy across Europe. It is, however, a policy which has been experienced as challenging, not least of all because of uncertainty over its meaning, and which has met with some resistance. Rosenqvist argues that political, ideological and, to an extent, scientific trends point towards a certain inevitability of “the school for all”, but there are, nevertheless, elements that threaten to undermine its progress and prospects. This paper takes a look at inclusion within Europe. It considers how inclusion is understood and the questions currently being raised about its feasibility. It examines the shifting political and policy contexts and recent patterns and trends towards inclusion and indeed exclusion. The paper ends with a discussion of the prospects and possibilities for inclusion.