Realism : The required philosophical compass for inclusion ?

Although during recent years in the field of special education there has been much debate regarding inclusion and people’s beliefs around disability, it is suggested that what has been lacking in many of the discussions is any coherent guiding philosophy that helps direct research in this area. The paper proposes that critical realism, developed by philosopher Roy Bhaskar, may provide such a framework and offers a philosophical 'compass' (Egbo, 2005) to researchers who want to be engaged in critical social scientific inquiry. The paper will briefly outline the main ontological and epistemological tenets of critical realism before exploring these in relation to the literature in the fields of disability, inclusion and special education. Finally it suggests that critical realism avoids many of the fallacies associated with educational research and could be seen as a useful way forward in the debate around inclusion and propose where further research is required.