(De)constructing systems discourses in South Africa's Education White Paper 6: Special Needs Education

Abstract

White Paper 6, on Special Needs Education, released in July 2001, is a response from the South African government’s Ministry of Education to the inclusion movement. In this article we examine systems discourses in this policy document. We discuss their implications, as we deconstruct them for inclusion or exclusion. We do not construct conclusions, but rather (de)construct the polyphony of voices, truths and realities speaking into and out of White Paper 6. This article thus offers an alternative approach to policy analysis.