Reading the schoolchild: teacher perspectives on equality under Danish inclusion reform policies

The Nordic education system centers ideologically on the idea that schools should be comprehensive and ‘for all’. A central dilemma however exists between ‘including all’ while still finding the means to differentiate in the same school. This article explores how the concept of the child has materialised into particular figurations of the schoolchild, by examining what produces the boundary-making practice between the normal schoolchild and the not-fully-schoolchild. The empirical example used for the analysis constitutes debates regarding two educational reforms in 1993 and 2014 targeting the Municipal primary and lower secondary school [Folkeskolen] in Denmark.Using posthuman theory and critical childhood studies, I explore how teachers debate the differences associated with inclusion and exclusion. The analysis shows that the figurations of the not-fully-schoolchild are intertwined with ideas of irreparable damage, lack of family support, and being harmful to themselves and other pupils. The not-fully-schoolchild has problems greater than their teachers and school can handle and therefore cannot be included in mainstream education. The figuration of the normal schoolchild does not include those with behavioural and emotional problems, and the effects of not viewing such children as fully schoolchildren involve the risk of exclusion from everyday school life.