Light and shadows in the inclusive Italian school system: a reply to Giangreco, Doyle & Suter (2012)

The article attempts to provide some answers to the many questions raised by Giangreco, Doyle and Suter (2012). Two aspects have been analysed in detail: 1. Research findings on pull out phenomena regarding students with disabilities and with learning disabilities; 2. Recent Italian laws for inclusive education. Pull out phenomena characterize the majority of the school careers of persons with disability. Furthermore, the phenomenon concerns students with learning disabilities as well, although in smaller percentages. The widespread occurrence of pull out suggests - although further research is needed in this field - the presence of a risky trend of micro-exclusionary processes within inclusive schools systems. As far as recent Italian laws for inclusive education are concerned, a broadening of the category of students with a right to individualised learning can be observed, from disability to a much broader conceptualisation of special educational need. This can be understood as a trend from integration towards inclusion, although a medical orientation is still noticeable in Italian inclusive school legislation.