Purpose Research has underscored the relevance of the decree of “inclusive” education for the education system. The United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides countries that have already ratified the convention with the – politically grounded – opportunity to bring about organizational change in their education system. From a systems theory perspective, sensu Niklas Luhmann, it is explored to what extent “inclusive” education as a grand change agenda is processed or resisted through the internal programming of organizational decisions. Design/methodology/approach This general review applies the systems theoretical concept of second- and third-order observations. It allows statements to be generated about how the scientific system has observed the education system up to now in terms of how it deals with organizational decisions and decision-making premises in the context of “inclusive” education. Findings Assuming that the education system follows an inherent organizational logic, the review highlights two main issues. Firstly, it illustrates various operational (closure) mechanisms which are used by the education system to translate the socio-economic complexity of its environment into seemingly meritocratically based distinctions. Secondly, it identifies aspects of educational communication that exclude parts of the student body at various levels of communication. Originality/value The article uses Niklas Luhmann's concept of observation to illustrate how the education system ostensibly follows the programme of “inclusive” education, but undermines educational policy expectations of inclusion through social differentiation at the organizational and interaction levels in order to avoid the risk of operational dysfunctionality. The findings contribute to insights into the way of decision-making at schools with reference to a grand change agenda, such as “inclusion”.
Tanja Lindacher (2026) studied this question.