Historically, the Nordic countries have long been recognized for their egalitarian education systems. The Norwegian state offers free and compulsory access to education for all students, regardless of gender, ethnicity, social class, ability status, or other immutable characteristics. Relatively speaking, Norway has performed well in formulating and implementing inclusive education policies. In 2024, the Norwegian government took significant steps by introducing a new education act. This legislation introduces new discourses on inclusive language, individualized accommodation, inclusive education, and special needs education. Accompanying this policy development is a recent cultural discourse surrounding ableism within the Norwegian education system. Children and youth with disabilities, along with their parents, often face ableist assumptions, negative misconceptions, and prejudiced attitudes when seeking individualized accommodations and support services. This paper will conduct a critical discourse analysis with a focus on the new education law implemented in 2024, in light of the prevailing ableist attitudes, practices, and policies. It enhances provisions for individualized accommodation and provides students and parents with greater opportunities to challenge ableism within the Norwegian education system. The aim of this paper is to explore the underlying frameworks of thought within the discursive contours of this new education law, critically examining concepts of inclusion, inclusive education, and special needs education. The analysis is grounded in Foucault’s theory of discourse and will utilize Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis to understand the emerging discourse on combating ableism and promoting inclusive education in Norway. This study will be based on a comprehensive review of Norwegian educational legislation, policy documents, white papers, and grey literature. The documents reviewed will be purposively sampled to cover themes related to ableism, inclusive language, disability as part of human diversity, individualized accommodation, inclusive education, and special needs education within the Norwegian education system. By employing critical discourse analysis on the selected policy documents, this paper will provide a culturally nuanced and context-specific understanding of the discourse surrounding ableism and inclusion in the Norwegian education system. The terms inclusion, inclusive education, and special needs education will be critically analyzed as they appear to be evolving within the Norwegian context, often connoting ambiguity and being influenced by the logic and assumptions of individual agents or institutional actors using these terms. This paper will accentuate the evolving narrative in which the term ableism and its Norwegian equivalents, “funkofobi” and “funksjonssjåvinisme,” are becoming increasingly prevalent in shaping the discourse around inclusion, inclusive education, and special needs education in Norway.

Author: Gagan Chhabra

• Date of Conference: 4-6 November 2024
• DOI: 10.20533/WCSNE.2024.0012
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-75-4
• Conference Location: St Anne’s College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK