INCLUSION AND PHILOSOPHIES OF DIFFERENCE: ANOTHER PARADIGM FOR EDUCATION?

ABSTRACT

This theoretical essay examines inclusion through the point of view of the philosophies of difference and asks whether their presence in current debates might signal the emergence of another paradigm for education. Within this broader purpose, it situates the philosophies of difference in the epistemic debate on inclusion and, specifically, analyzes the shifts they generate and the particular role they play in this context. Drawing on the genealogical method, the analysis focuses on one of the problems this philosophical perspective addresses, by pointing to the current limits of specialized knowledge and forms of power, and then proposing a reflective inquiry into the presence of bodies with disabilities and, above all, the unease they provoke when, allied with other dissident bodies, they resist the forms of capture imposed by institutions such as the school. The essay argues that the potential of these presences, and the encounters with differences made possible within schools today thanks to inclusive education - and despite it - invite schools and teacher education programs (initial and/or continuing) to undertake a profound re-examination in light of the challenges posed by the philosophies of difference.

KEYWORDS:
Inclusion; Philosophies of difference; Paradigm; Dissident bodies; Inclusive education.