Porteus, K.A. (2003). Decolonising inclusion: constructing an analytic framework for inclusion / exclusion for the decolonising context: research paper. Perspectives in Education, 21, 13-23. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC87215
Abstract
In his comprehensive review of the notion of social inclusion and exclusion in the South, Sayed demonstrates that there is not yet a consensus among analysts from the South about the applicability and meaning of social inclusion and exclusion as analytic tools. His review calls for a deepened critical engagement with the notion of social inclusion and exclusion in the diverse context of the South. This article constructs an analytic approach to inclusion and exclusion consistent within a decolonising context. The article begins by providing a critical analysis of the notion of inclusion and exclusion within a post-colonial project, and affirms inclusion / exclusion as important analytic tools to the extent that they are constructed as active processes bounded within a human rights framework. The second half of the article applies this decolonising framework for inclusion / exclusion to the South African system of education, and suggests three analytic lenses for analysis – equity, quality, and knowledge. Using the process of transformation within the South African system of education as a point of departure, the article seeks to suggest the range of analytic questions that emerge from this approach.