Internationally, there is a growing expectation that mainstream schools will effectively educate and include all learners, irrespective of disability or special educational needs (SEN) (Ainscow, 2020). Alongside this, the concept of inclusive education has gained significant criticality, highlighting the need to create supportive environments for students with special educational needs (Qvortrup and Qvortrup, 2018).

Within this discourse, parental expertise and lived experience play a central role. Parents contribute situated knowledge and insights that shape understandings of inclusion, influence educational decision making, and impact the effectiveness of inclusive practices within schools (De Boer et al., 2010; Stevens & Wurf, 2020).

This symposium presents four papers from Australia, Norway, Canada and the United Arab Emirates, drawing on findings from phase two of a global investigation into parental school choice and inclusion. All contributions originate from a broader study involving nine countries and examining parents’ and carers’ preferences and experiences regarding school placement for their children. The project explores how parents perceive inclusion, how they navigate educational systems, and how their lived experience aligns with or diverges from stated national commitments to inclusive education.

Theoretical and Methodological Framework: The symposium is informed by Urhahne and Wijnia’s (2023) integrative framework on theories of motivation in education, which provides a conceptual lens for analysing parents’ motivations, aspirations and concerns, and the processes underpinning school choice. Using this framework, we examine how parents make sense of their encounters with educational systems over time, including the understandings and expectations they bring to these interactions.

Qualitative, semi structured interviews were conducted with Canada (12), Australia (27), Norway (19) and UAE (16) parents. Thematic analysis identified convergences and divergences in parental perspectives, with attention to decision making rationales, perceptions of inclusive practice, relational experiences with schools, and aspirations for their children’s education.

Symposium Contributions:
Collectively, the four papers illuminate how parents interpret and navigate inclusive education across distinct social, cultural and policy contexts. The symposium explores what parents believe inclusive education has been, what it currently is, and what it could become. Emphasis is placed on parents’ relational encounters with educators and systems, their interpretations of inclusion’s effectiveness, and their hopes for more meaningful and equitable practices. Narratives reveal both the possibilities of inclusive schooling and the persistent systemic constraints that shape families’ experiences.

The first paper demonstrates that parental choice is rarely a matter of simple preference or ideology. Rather, it is a relational and often risk laden practice shaped by systemic limitations, institutional responsiveness, and families’ negotiations with schooling structures. Parents’ decisions are embedded within local opportunities and constraints, including the perceived safety, accessibility and adequacy of support within mainstream settings.

The second paper shows that positive experiences of inclusion are strongly associated with robust school–family relationships. Parents emphasised the importance of trust, communication and genuine collaboration, identifying these as key predictors of effective, personalised and inclusive support.

Building on these insights, the third paper highlights the centrality of context dependent opportunities and stresses the need for strong, responsive relationships not only with schools but with wider educational stakeholders. This paper reveals how parents’ understandings of inclusion are shaped by the broader socio educational ecosystem, including policies, service availability and community attitudes.

The fourth paper argues for sustained national and global dialogue among stakeholders—parents, educators, policymakers and researchers—about how parental expertise and preferences should inform the future of inclusive education. It underscores the need to honour parental knowledge as a vital dimension of educational decision making.

Together, the symposium contributes to the international discourse on inclusive education by foregrounding parental perspectives as essential to improving policy, practice and outcomes for learners globally.

Ainscow, M. (2020). Promoting inclusion and equity in education: lessons from international experiences. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 6(1), 7-16. De Boer, A. A., Pijl, S. J., & Minnaert, A. E. M. G. (2010). Attitudes of parents towards inclusive education: A review of the literature. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 25(2), 165–181. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856251003658694 [tandfonline.com], [psycnet.apa.org] Stevens, L., & Wurf, G. (2020). Perceptions of inclusive education: A mixed methods investigation of parental attitudes in three Australian primary schools. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 24(4), 351–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1464068 Qvortrup, A. and Qvortrup, L. (2018) ‘Inclusion: Dimensions of inclusion in education’, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 22(7), 803-817 Urhahne, D., & Wijnia, L. (2023). Theories of Motivation in Education: An Integrative Framework. Educational Psychology Review, 35, Article 45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09767-9