Questioning the social exclusion of students with disabilities in Algerian schools: Exploring inclusion policies between theory and practice.

The present thesis provides key insights into the issue of social exclusion of Algerian students
with disabilities in all education levels notably schools. Additionally, it reviews the extent to
which Algerian government policies address this issue in inclusive education. The study will
examine the intersections of learning disabilities, social exclusion, and education policy in
Algeria. To undertake this investigation, I employed both quantitative and qualitative
approaches to explore the issue more closely by using document analysis and questionnaire in
the data collection process. I analysed 10 Algerian policy documents with 21 extracts related
to inclusion policies and authorities’ initiatives to resolve the issue of social exclusion within
both education settings and society. The selected documents include policy reports issued by
the United Nations and Algerian ministries. These reports enabled the tracking of authorities’
attempts to promote diversity and inclusion of students with disabilities, as well as examining
the success and failure of implementing inclusion policies. In the present research, I used
questionnaires as a means of data collection with 17 teachers participating as a research
population. Participants shared their attitudes, opinions and behaviours towards the
implementation of inclusion policies in the Algerian educational settings. This mixed-method
research helped to generate qualitative and quantitative data that will answer my research
questions. The recruitment of these participants allowed for an examination of their perspective
on social exclusion and inclusion policies that target students with disabilities in both
mainstream and special schools. In other words, the questionnaire paved the way for views on
inclusive education practice and changes in recent years and how authorities have responded
to participants’ demands to promote the inclusion of students with disabilities nationwide. I
applied a critical discourse analysis approach in examining policy texts to fully investigate the
data on social exclusion and how it is conceptualised and represented in policy texts and
discourse. A thematic analysis approach was applied to examine questionnaire teachers’
responses, while critical discourse analysis was used to investigate policy texts. The findings
of the study provided insight into teachers’ perspectives towards the inclusion process of
students with disabilities in Algerian educational settings. The findings suggested that there is
a gap in the implementation of inclusion policies in some schools. The quantitative and
qualitative findings indicated that physical inaccessibility and negative attitudes towards
students with disabilities are the main barriers to inclusion in schools. Furthermore, the
qualitative data highlighted the importance of stakeholders’ participation, notably parental
involvement, in the successful implementation of inclusion policies. The findings revealed the
authorities’ efforts to promote inclusion and equal opportunities, but students still experience
social exclusion at the level of facilities and services. Authorities have shown, on many
occasions, their willingness to work alongside internal and external partners to introduce
effective interventions and inclusion initiatives.