Teachers and Educational Inclusion in Chile: Resistance and Tensions

Chile is globally recognized as one of the leading countries in implementing large-scale neoliberal reforms. In this context, education was an area that underwent profound transformations, including the introduction of vouchers as a form of financing and the promotion of competition among schools based on their performance in national standardized assessments. As a result of this process, students with special educational needs, learning difficulties, or behavioral issues were systematically excluded from schools with better academic outcomes. In 2015, a series of reforms were initiated, most notably the Inclusion Law, which seeks to break with the neoliberal orientation and the exclusion of students. Through a qualitative inquiry, involving 29 in-depth interviews with school teachers, this study explores the resistance of educators toward students entering schools as a result of the Inclusion Law, who can no longer be excluded. The findings reveal that while inclusion is perceived as an ideal and necessary goal, teachers express strong resistance toward students with learning difficulties and special educational needs, as they are seen as hindering the progress of higher-performing students and impeding the achievement of good results in national standardized assessments. Teachers' discourse reflects the ongoing expectation that students should adapt to the school environment, conforming to the ways in which the school expects them to learn and behave within the classroom. From this perspective, inclusion is a desire, an aspiration, but remains far from becoming part of the school cultures, largely due to the persistent neoliberal culture that prioritizes competition, individualism, and the attainment of results over the well-being and inclusion of all students.