Inclusion in mathematics education : an ideology, a way of teaching, or both?

This literature review focuses on the definitions and roles of inclusion in the field of mathematics education to help promote the sustainable development of inclusion in the discipline. Discourse analysis was used to analyse 76 studies published between 2010 and 2016. The results show that the term inclusion is used both for an ideology and a way of teaching, and these two uses are most often treated separately and independently of each other. When inclusion is treated as an ideology, values are articulated; when treated as a way of teaching, interventions are brought to the fore. When the notion of inclusion is used as an ideology, the most extensive discourse concerns equity in mathematics education; when it is used as a way of teaching, the most extensive discourse relates to teaching interventions for mathematical engagement. Based on the literature review, if sustainable development of inclusion in mathematics education is to be promoted, scholars need to connect and interrelate the operationalisation and meanings of inclusion in both society and in mathematics classrooms, and take students’ voices into consideration in research