Introduction

If inclusion denotes ongoing efforts to remove barriers to authentic participation for all, then systemic exclusionary pressures and localised exclusionary practices must be acknowledged. These may vary according to national context, but two common features are evident. Firstly, the routine nature or “everydayness” of exclusion in education systems and cultures globally and secondly, the disproportionate exclusion of specific demographic groups. This state of affairs may reflect historical inequities but, today, it indicates the power of neoliberal policies and discourses to transform education. Neoliberalising processes rely on competition between nations and between individuals, and are thus inherently exclusionary. States act to maintain such competition and manage the consequences (intended and unintended), often creating perverse incentives to exclude and to obscure exclusionary pressures and practices within their education systems. Contributors to this collected works investigate exclusion through varied theoretical perspectives, but all demonstrate a critical literacy and concern for social justice.