Harry Potter and the paradox of the ‘expert’

Griffiths, D (2016) Harry Potter and the paradox of the ‘expert’. Support for Learning, 31 (3). pp. 202-207. ISSN 0268-2141

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Abstract

In this article, Dominic Griffiths reflects upon the current cultural gapbetween those who locate themselves as working ‘on the inside’ of the worldof ‘special educational needs’ and the ‘inclusion movement’ and those whomight be describe as ‘mainstream classroom teachers’. Griffiths warns of thedangers of the dangers of ‘enculturation’ of the ‘insiders’ which can lead tocommunal visions of mainstream teachers as ‘barriers to inclusion’. Equally,from ‘outsider’ perspectives, the world of special and inclusive education maybe perceived as ‘mysterious’, hidden in a fog of arcane acronyms and popu-lated by specialist ‘experts’. The author calls for a conscious demystificationof this world and an active reaching out to and nurturing of mainstream col-leagues without whom, he argues, the inclusion project cannot succeed.