Generations of the Community Perspective in Today’s Inclusive Education

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the emergence and development of the so-called community perspective of inclusive education. Our work aims to provide a conceptual framework where this community perspective is conceptualized, and the traits that characterize it from the viewpoint of researchers and academics that specialize in the subject are identified. To this end, a qualitative documentary review of an interpretative nature has been conducted through a systematic review of the relevant international literature from the last 40 years. This process has enabled us to demonstrate the existence of different generations within this community perspective. In this sense, the first generation that has been identified is supported by the organizational perspective of inclusive education, while the second generation is strongly influenced by what is nowadays known as inclusive research, which incorporates the ethics of inclusion, the voices of those involved and participation as identity hallmarks. While there is an evolution in the perspectives themselves, it is also concluded that they converge towards a common trunk that is defined by the collaboration, support and role played by the community in the articulation of inclusive cultures, policies and practices.