The rule-and-the-exception paradox. How to establish micro-level strategies for inclusive education through rules and exceptions

Inclusive education within the individual classroom at the ‘everyday school life level’ is often implemented through exceptions to existing school-related frameworks and issues. Using Flanagan’s critical incident technique within focus group discussions, this study illustrated exceptions teachers established for individual students with special needs and backgrounds, including adjustments to organisational rules, tasks, teaching arrangements and behavioural expectations, such as leniency towards misbehaviour. These micro-level strategies reflected the ‘rule-and-the-exception paradox’, wherein clear rules and procedures provide orientation, security and predictability, but some students’ individual needs require individually tailored procedures in the reality of everyday school life. As the findings show, classmates often considered special treatment unfair and an unequal advantage, not as compensation for disadvantages. For this reason, teachers and the class entered a negotiation process and adapted the rule-and-the-exception paradox to the inclusive classroom; classmates were familiarised with both the need for an exception and the fact that procedures and rules nevertheless apply and that they themselves had to follow these rules, although other individuals could not consistently do so. As a result, the entire class developed social skills and a deeper understanding fairness, from which all students benefitted. For this, teachers require support to perform negotiation without getting exhausted.