Building an inclusive society in which all people can participate effectively and live together requires understanding inclusive education and its impact on the social order. As countries of different regions face the vast array of challenges unique to their educational systems, it becomes apparent that inclusive societies are intricately tied to…

Over the past half century higher education in the United States has been challenged to develop and implement policies and practices that effectively promote the access, retention, and graduation of diverse underrepresented populations. One of these populations is comprised of individuals with disabilities, whose equal access to higher education…

This paper discusses a way of thinking about disability which has emerged out of the UK Disabled People's Movement over the last three decades in opposition to the preceding medical model of disability which viewed disability as synonymous with problem. Disabled people are increasingly challenging the notion that their embodiment is inherently…

Although implemented in 1975, the inclusion of students with special needs into the mainstream general education environment has taken a slow path. Now in an age where federal and state mandates affect the ways in which schools are run, the least restrictive environment mandate has been met with increasingly wide acceptance. In order for all…

The effort to make schools more inclusive, together with the pressure to retain students until the end of secondary school, has greatly increased both the number and educational requirements of students enrolling in their local school. Of critical concern, despite years of research and improvements in policy, pedagogy and educational knowledge, is…

Teachers for the Future is a regional report that draws together and analyses research findings from a study commissioned by the European Training Foundation (ETF) in seven countries in the Western Balkan region, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. The overall…

Because of the focus on inclusion in public schools today, the interest regarding how to effectively support students with special needs in the general education environment, both academically and socially has been ignited. While we have witnessed an increase in the academic success of students included in general education classrooms, we have not…

This special issue examines inclusive education, the movement to include children with disabilities in regular classrooms, focusing on the situation in New Jersey. The issue begins with an editorial by Ethan B. Ellis titled "Inclusive Education: Time To Pay Up." In "The Terms of the Debate," Marc Mercer notes that inclusive…

Two letters from German educators respond to an article by Carola Murray-Seegert (EC 602 675) on mainstreaming of people with disabilities in Germany. The letters, in both the original German and English translation, basically support the article's premises and urge increasing efforts toward integration of the disabled in Germany. (DB)

Describes successful practices for the socialization of students with and without disabilities in the general education classroom. A model of inclusion conducive to establishing positive interactions and communication among students with and without disabilities is presented. Effective intervention strategies involving the relationship between two…

Inclusion of students with disabilities in regular education in the United Kingdom calls for matching diversity of learning need with diversity of educational approach for all students. A three-dimensional matrix relating varied teaching approaches, types and levels of expertise, and grouping of pupils is proposed. (DB)

This paper reviews the concept of integration, identifies present practices in Alberta (Canada), and describes related issues and trends. Terms are clarified, current initiatives are outlined, the effectiveness of integration is discussed, and the legal and judicial context is examined. The North American experience with integration is briefly…

Social relations data is an especially useful but often neglected means of obtaining information on the effects of social processes that are involved in educational interventions. A four-fold table conceptualizes educational interventions and their outcomes as consisting of social and academic interventions and their outcomes. This model…

This paper notes a Canadian survey on the policies and practices of mainstreaming and integration of disabled students and suggests that, although widespread integration exists, there is a growing disaffection with the demands of mainstreaming which include individualized instruction, personalized success structuring, and continuous learning. (DB)

This article explores the effects of the integration movement on the placement of preschoolers with disabilities and describes the effects of integration and developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) methodology on assessment and instructional practices. The paper concludes that programs following the DAP guidelines can be adapted to promote…