Struggles for Integrazione Scolastica

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with a description of the historical context and the struggles that led to the enactment of the policy of integrazione scolastica in Italy. This chapter however does not simply describe the history of integration but it seeks to understand why ‘at a given time, out of all the possible things that could be said, only certain things were said’ (Ball, 1990:3). To put simply, this chapter seeks to understand why whilst the majority of European countries chose to segregate disabled students, Italy began the process of mainstreaming disabled pupils into regular schools and classrooms.