An analysis of metaphors used for inclusive education in South Africa

Metaphors may delay the implementation of inclusive education. They describe ideas, construct thinking, and have implications for practice. By drawing on various theories of metaphor, the article analyses metaphors that occur in White Paper Six: special needs education and in subsequent inclusive education discourse. It focuses on inclusion as a goal, a building, a process and hospitality, and describes what these metaphors offer in order to develop an understanding of inclusive education. These metaphors have conceptual limitations which may affect the way in which inclusion is practised in South Africa. Metaphors that convey inclusion are required as an urgent imperative to ensure that all South African children access quality education.