In conversation with normativity: Perceptions and disruptions of inclusive education in Armenia

In Armenia, inclusive education has gained increasing presence in state policy documents and legislation, as well as in civil society organisations' advocacy work and reporting. Currently, all special ( hatuk ) schools are set to be transformed to resource centres and disabled children to be transferred to general schools by 2025. However, the implementation of inclusive education thus far has been characterised as integration, rather than inclusion; disabled children frequently experience exclusion at school. Drawing on two qualitative projects conducted in Gyumri, Armenia, in 2021-2022, we therefore explore how practices labelled as inclusion in schools are experienced by children categorised and/or identifying as disabled, as well as by children who are not. We analyse how exclusionary experiences and understandings problematise the value of both inclusion and school. We propose that any normative position advocating for inclusive education must be built from a deep ethical engagement with the aims, hopes, and values of disabled children.