Reconceptualising Inclusion: From Integration to Relational Practice

Abstract

This paper examines the evolving concept of inclusion in education and its implications for contemporary educational practice. Drawing on scholarship in inclusive education, it traces key conceptual shifts from early models centred on integration and access toward more recent perspectives emphasising participation, systemic transformation, and relational engagement. While these developments have shaped broader educational debates, their implications for language education, and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in particular, remain insufficiently articulated. Recent empirical evidence highlights considerable conceptual plurality and ambiguity in how inclusive EAP is understood and enacted in practice. In response, the paper proposes a dynamic relational conceptualisation of inclusion and reflects on its implications for pedagogy and educational practice in linguistically diverse contexts.