SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: Special & Inclusive Education

While many distinctions between ‘special’ and ‘inclusive’ education have been made and continue to be forcefully debated, the two concepts remain strongly evident in policy and practice in many countries. This paper discusses the interrelated history of these concepts. It explores how conceptualisations of them have changed since Salamanca and reflects on whether inclusive education has, can or should replace special education. It considers the extent to which ‘special’ and ‘inclusive’ education are understood as the same or different today. The paper argues for a clear a distinction to be made between how special educators can work in support of inclusive education and the task of inclusive education which addresses the barriers to participation faced by members of marginalised groups.

Since the Salamanca Statement was published in 1994 a massive amount of research has addressed the issue of inclusive education. Yet, there is a sense of lack of progress which seems to necessitate a critical look at the field while not neglecting advancements made. Such advancements concern the development of theory, a concept which is given a broad interpretation in the paper. Both theories with limited scope and more encompassing theories have been developed.

The implementation of inclusion policy for learners with special education needs has been a matter of interest for South African schools. This study sought to explore pockets of good practice found in the experiences of teachers in implementing inclusion of learners with special education needs (SEN). A qualitative research approach was employed and a case study design used. The study purposively sampled eight teachers and eight principals from eight selected primary schools, as well as one provincial and three district officials. Semi-structured interviews were employed as instruments of data collection, and the data were analysed thematically. The findings revealed that teachers accommodate learners with SEN despite the fact that some of them do not have qualifications/training in SEN.

Many countries are embracing inclusive education. However, one of the main challenges that African countries are facing in this regard is the shortage of qualified teachers with the requisite skills to provide an appropriate education for their children with special needs. This shortage can be addressed through provision of professional development to all in-service teachers in the area of special and inclusive education. This current study was an attempt to identify professional development needs, from both general and special education teachers' perspectives, in terms of special and inclusive education in the three African countries of Malawi, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. A combination of purposive and convenience sampling procedures was used to draw participants for this study. A semi-structured survey questionnaire was administered to 629 teachers from the three countries

Within the United States educational system, the policy of including all individuals with and without disabilities in the classroom has been passionately debated. As far back as the middle of the 1800s, some teachers suggested that there were positives to having children with disabilities in the classroom with “normal” peers, while at the same time they acknowledged problems for these students in that setting (Osgood, 2005). Throughout most of history, the educational policy for students with disabilities has been firmly focused on exclusion of individuals with disabilities rather than inclusion into the classroom (Dudley-Marling & Burns,2014). Prior to the monumental enactment of the Education for All Children Act (also known as Public Law 94-142) many states had laws in place that directly excluded most students with disabilities from attending public schools (U.S. Office of Special Education Programs, 2007).

For around 40 years, there has been intense debate about how to best educate learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) [1,2]. Competing paradigms of special education and inclusive education have been developed, disseminated, and discussed at length over the years. It is considered that discussions need to be focused on the effectiveness of these two competing approaches to educating learners with different types and severities of special educational needs and disabilities. Therefore, the aim of our special issue of Education Sciences was to focus on the latest issues, as well as current international practices and research relevant to special education and inclusive education.