Queering the Language of Inclusion: Implications from a Content Analysis of Inclusion Language in Developmental Education Scholarship

Inclusion is constantly referenced in educational institutions’ mission and values statements. Despite their purpose of guiding the institution, these brief paragraphs usually create more questions than answers regarding the who, what, and how of inclusion work. This article applies a queered critical discourse studies lens to a manifest content analysis of the term “inclusion” in professional journals from the field of postsecondary developmental education. Queer pedagogies support critical examinations of power and deconstructing dominant discourses. Our analysis of 112 articles across eight journals uncovered how developmental education scholars’ discussion of inclusion and the nature of inclusion work rarely operationally defined who should be included or who is/ought to be included in conversations about educational equity and inclusion. Further, the data included a strand of heteronormative ideologies that suggest an implicit assumption that being inclusive of queer students is only about discussing LGBT students, rather than acting inclusively of the queer population at large. In applying a queer theory lens, we interweave concrete recommendations into our presentation of the findings, challenging educational scholars, educators, and educational leaders to make inclusion language inclusive of all and create spaces that promote discursive as well as physical inclusion.