Handicapped, special, or diverse? Segregated, mainstreamed, or included? The field of disability and difference within education, is vast and wide-ranging. This review of the literature highlights how, although we have come far in the last 40 years, there is still much to learn about effective inclusion of disabled children in early childhood…

Teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education affect its successful implementation within mainstream schools. This paper reviews nine questionnaires which capture primary school teachers' attitudes towards inclusion, with the aim to support researchers in selecting the most appropriate measure according to the purpose of their study. Most of the…

The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse research about inclusive education. Prior reviews and the outcome of a recent search of databases are analysed with regard to (a) how inclusion is defined and (b) what empirical knowledge there is regarding factors that make schools and classrooms more inclusive. Our point of departure is that we…

Some researchers have characterized Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a promising framework to provide diverse students with access to the general education curriculum, but to what extent and how have UDL-based interventions fulfilled that promise? The purpose of this review was to analyze studies that investigated impacts of UDL-based…

Research and development of information and communication technology (ICT)-supported learning for people with disabilities has not received adequate attention. It is also difficult to access research findings and developments in this field. Under the ENABLE Network of ICT Supported Learning for Disabled People (2011-2014) project, an emerging…

Social participation of students with special educational needs (SEN) is a key issue in the inclusion debate. However, the meaning of concepts like social integration, social inclusion and social participation used in current literature is often unclear. Recently, these concepts were clarified based on preschool and primary school literature. The…

This review integrates theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence of a sense of school belonging (SOSB) to highlight its importance in understanding the inclusion efficacy research for pupils with special educational needs (SEN). Specifically, it examines the role of a SOSB on pupils' cognitive, affective, behavioural and social developmental…

In the early 1990s, UNESCO estimated that perhaps 97% of the world's 650 million disabled persons were unable to read or write, leading to significant efforts throughout the developing world to ensure that all children with disabilities attended school through "inclusive education" programmes. But what of the vast majority of persons with…

The trend towards inclusive education has led to an increase of studies focusing on peer attitudes. This review study presents an overview of studies describing attitudes of students, variables relating to students' attitudes, and the relationship between students' attitudes and the social participation of peers with disabilities. Based on a…

Teachers are seen as key persons to implement inclusive education. Positive attitudes are therefore argued as playing a considerable role in implementing this educational change successfully. The aim of this study is to examine what attitudes teachers hold towards inclusive education, which variables are related to their attitudes and if these…

Mainstream research that examines relations between students with significant disabilities and their peers continues to assess such relations on the capacity of students with significant disabilities to evoke and sustain them. This article adopts a "disability studies" approach to situate peer relations within the larger classroom context. The…

This is an exploratory study suggesting ways of analysing challenges for developing countries in the move to greater inclusion of disabled children and young people in learning. The paper focuses on pedagogical challenges to realising more inclusive education. Pedagogy encompasses not only the practice of teaching and learning, but also the ideas…

Recent studies on the integration of handicapped with nonhandicapped preschoolers and its effect on social interactions are reviewed. Studies include those reporting the spontaneous occurrence of social interactions between young handicapped and nonhandicapped children and those reporting the need for structure and training to facilitate…

The author reviews findings from a four-year study of mainstreaming programs, notes complaints of regular classroom teachers, describes successful approaches to promote integration, and discusses a range of mainstreaming models from informal "deals" between teachers to unconditional mainstreaming. (CL)

The author discusses the policies of two teacher organizations--the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)--regarding the implementation of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Cautious acceptance of mainstreaming is noted and guidelines are seen to reflect both instructional and…