Resolving Dilemmas: Swedish Special Educators and Subject

Teachers’ Perspectives on Their Enactment of Inclusive

Education
(David Paulsrud)

Abstract (Discussion Part)

The article explores how Swedish special educators and subject teachers perceive and
respond to dilemmas in their enactment of inclusive education alongside conflicting policy
demands. The findings reflect how teachers' work is framed by policies that constrain
inclusive ambitions. However, the use of policy enactment as a theoretical lens allows for a
new understanding of the complex process where different actors' perceptions and responses
to dilemmas and their resolutions are influenced by their organizational position, contextual
frames, and policy pressure in different ways. The study identifies four dilemmas and shows
how they are resolved at different levels in the local school organization. The external
context, described as 'pressure and expectations generated by wider local and national policy
frameworks,' influences the resolution of dilemmas. Standards policies seem to constrain
teachers' resolutions to dilemmas, but some reflect upon alternatives without authority to
resist them. The article argues for the importance of studying how dilemmas are played out in
practice to gain a more nuanced understanding of the conditions for realizing inclusive
education and suggests that research on policy enactment in schools benefit from a focus on
dilemmas.

Submitted By:
Navid Ur Rehman
S2023191008