Interpretations of inclusive education in Australian policy: what's the problem represented to be?

Policies encapsulate distilled values and have good intentions. However, how problems are represented and then interpreted and translated into practice is not always clear. In this paper, we used Carol Bacchi's 'What's the Problem Represented to be?' (WPR) approach to analyse and critique the discourses present in three Australian states' inclusive education documents to see how they represent General Comment No. 4's right to inclusive education for all students including those with disabilities. Findings reveal that, for the most part, Australian states follow the sentiments of General Comment No. 4. However, there are contradictory messages related to how inclusive education, as intended by General Comment No. 4, should be enacted. In analysing the policy landscape in this way, we found that the sense of urgency underpinning General Comment No. 4 and the commitment to full inclusion for all students were variably reflected in the states' inclusive education policies.