Although the definition and recognition of student “differences” are the cornerstones of an inclusive approach in education, implementing such an approach poses significant challenges for school practitioners. We sought to understand the position taken by speech therapists in terms of their assessment practices cultural minority students. How, then, are differences and deficiencies recognised or reconciled? Our approach hinges on an interpretive-critical posture (Lincoln and Guba, 2005; Merriam, 2002; 2009) that acknowledges the viewpoint of speech therapists while making it possible to shed light on the power relations that inform their practices. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with eight speech therapists working in Montreal primary schools having a large ethnic population and included therapy assessment reports. Our analysis employed a threefold approach: restitution, contrast and criticism. Five issues emerged that linked with the components of assessment. Finally, critic theory revisits these issues in light of Foucault’s concept of “examination” (Foucault, 1975). Our approach underscored the obstacles encountered by speech therapists in the process of implementing practices termed inclusive. Consistent with an inclusive education aimed at promoting the dignity of the student, it becomes necessary to remove the impediments to the implementation of comprehensive assessment practices, which are characterised by their credibility and effectiveness in terms of the realities and experiences of cultural minority students (Zay, 2012). Nevertheless, the recognition of the assessment process as a Foucauldian examination changed the debate on therapists and their practices to one on the discourse of truth underlying these practices and allowing the regulation of “behaviours that “pose a problem” (Otero, 2006, p. 51, translation ours). Subsequent analyses will make possible to move beyond these first considerations and to shed light on the importance of the psych-omedical approach within the assessment processes regarding cultural minority students and on how this approach fits into the normalization process.

Foucault, M. (1975). Surveiller et punir: naissance de la prison. Paris : Gallimard. Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (2005). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 97-127). Thousand Oaks: SAGE. Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: a guide to design implementation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Zay, D. (2012). A Secular Cooperative School Can it Promote an Inclusive Education and Society ? Italian Journal of Sociology of Education, 4 (1), 88-112: http://www.ijse.eu