Can a private religious school be inclusive? A case study analysis

Abstract

In Chile, inclusive education is promoted as a fundamental principle of quality education, with particular emphasis on publicly subsidized schools. However, its implementation faces significant challenges in the context of private fee-paying schools, where there is little discussion about the compatibility between inclusion and private education. Within this framework, the aim of this study was to explore inclusive processes, as well as the facilitators, barriers, and challenges, in a private religious school that identifies as inclusion-oriented, located in central Chile. Using a qualitative and interpretive approach, the relevance of the school's internal policies and practices was examined through interviews, focus groups, and document analysis. The findings indicate that, although the school has support mechanisms to address diversity and a value framework inspired by Catholicism that aligns with inclusive principles, significant tensions remain in the effective implementation of inclusion. These tensions are evident both in the conceptual understanding and in the enactment of practices that contradict the principles of participation and recognition of difference. Furthermore, the discussions highlight a structural and theoretical tension between the inclusive ideal as an educational horizon and the specific conditions that characterize private education.