A Phenomenological Reflection on the Concept of Inclusion as Employed in the Kenyan Education Landscape: Anecdotal Accounts of Inclusionary Exclusion

Abstract

The role of education in any given society cannot be overemphasized enough. Granted, evaluation of such roles is based on the assumption that all citizens will access and participate in specific educational experiences as provided for by the said societies. This implies inclusion, a concept that remains protracted owing to its subjective interpretation by various actors. Indeed, this paper views the problem partly as a conceptual issue which can be resolved upon unequivocal clarification of the concept, followed by deliberate sensitization of the relevant stakeholders. So what is inclusion, and to what extent do education stakeholders share in the understanding? According to the disability theory, inclusion majorly involves special needs learners. This conception drifts focus from what should actually be the case: schools for all. The current paper critiques such conceptions, providing illustrations of how they eventually mislead teachers into exclusionary practices albeit subconsciously. In this perspective article, teachers’ and learners’ views on inclusion were mined through the sentiment analysis method where the views were gathered from social media, specifically from a popular Facebook page, and synthesized accordingly. In the final analysis, it emerged that education access was mistaken for participation, leading to situations where teachers inadvertently excluded normal learners at various levels, imagining that their being in school alone was testimony of inclusion. The resulting situation is herein referred to operationally as inclusionary exclusion. This paper recommends, as a first step, the inclusion of knowledge and skills on both inclusive and exclusive practices in teacher education programmes so that education practitioners act consciously. It is instructive that no goal of education is achieved in the absence of inclusive practices, hence, there is a need for a review of how education practitioners and policymakers conceptualize inclusion.