Teachers’ and learners’ perspectives on disciplinary approaches in a South African special school through an inclusive education Lens

Background Inclusive education seeks to promote learner participation, belonging, and responsiveness to diversity. However, despite growing scholarship on inclusive education and behaviour support, limited research has examined how disciplinary approaches in special schools align with or contradict the principles of inclusive education. Objective This study addresses this gap by exploring disciplinary approaches employed in a South African special school through an inclusive education lens. Methods Within an interpretivist paradigm, the study adopted a single-case qualitative design. Data were originally generated through semi-structured interviews with four teachers and a focus group discussion with six learners. The existing dataset underwent a secondary, theory-informed thematic analysis that combined deductive and inductive coding. Results The findings showed that disciplinary practices could not be understood as inherently inclusive or exclusionary. Structured rules, monitoring, behavioural accountability, and privilege systems were used to promote order, safety, and behavioural regulation, while relational support, learner voice, praise, recognition, and professional judgement shaped participation and belonging in varied ways. Importantly, the same practice could support some learners while generating experiences of control, unfairness, or exclusion for others. Conclusion The study contributes to inclusive education scholarship by refining the application of the inclusion–exclusion continuum to disciplinary practices in a special-school context. The findings suggest that the implications of disciplinary practices depend on their purpose, enactment, context, and learners’ experiences. Inclusive disciplinary practice, therefore, requires balancing accountability with learner voice, responsiveness, fairness, dignity, support, and a sense of belonging.