From Inclusion to Organisational Differentiation?

Swedish special education is currently shifting towards increased organisational differentiation, as reflected in political proposals to expand the use of special teaching groups. This article examines this shift through Nancy Fraser’s redistribution–recognition dilemma. It argues that contemporary developments are best understood against the background of earlier shifts in the Swedish inclusion discourse, in which responses to educational disadvantage have repeatedly relied on affirmative strategies. Whereas earlier reforms sought to reduce stigma by integrating pupils into mainstream classrooms, current debates increasingly justify differentiated provision through a redistributive logic centred on targeted support and resource allocation. Drawing on Fraser’s distinction between affirmative and transformative remedies, the article shows how both historical and contemporary responses address inequality without transforming the organisational and normative conditions that produce it. Rather than representing fundamentally different approaches to inclusion, these responses can be understood as variations of a shared affirmative logic, reflecting the tensions between redistribution and recognition in current debates on special education. This, in turn, opens up questions about what a more transformative approach to educational justice might require.