FYI- John Lloyd also did a summary and commentary on his blog on the international issue in inclusive education as well…my guess there is going to a lot of competition between various theoretical and conceptual camps in defining what inclusion means…or at least that has been the history of it in the US. MDB

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From: John Wills Lloyd from Special Education Today <specialeducationtoday@substack.com>
Date: Tue, Aug 20, 2024 at 4:00 AM
Subject: Multiple countries' perspectives on inclusion
To: <mburke.bear@gmail.com>

How is "inclusive education" viewed in different countries?

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Multiple countries' perspectives on inclusion

How is "inclusive education" viewed in different countries?

John Wills Lloyd

Aug 20

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The US journal Remedial and Special Education published eight articles about international perspectives on special education. These papers are each an entry in a special issue that is forthcoming. After an editors’ introduction, the authors of five of the papers discussed special education in specific countries— India, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. The other three articles from the front and back of the series.

At the time I am writing this post, they have not yet been assigned full publication information (i.e., volume, issue, pagination), so I cannot provide complete citations for them. They are available on line, so I have provided links (digital object identifiers or DOIs) to the sources as I found them on the Internet. I encourage readers to find and read the original articles.¹

In this post for Special Education Today I provide previews of the papers in the form of their citations and abstracts. First, though, here’s a little eye candy. As I was working on this post I remembered this image of a plaque embedded in the ground surfaced of the famous Plaza Mayor in the center of Salamanca where one can see Escuelas Mayores, La Casa de las Conchas, San Esteban’s convent, and more. It is UNESCO World Heritage site #381, as the plaque indicated.²

I mention it here not simply because we’ve been there and had a great time, but also because “The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education”³ is relevant in discussions of international special education.

Introduction

The guest editors—Chris Lemons, Sharon Vaughn, and Abdulaziz Alsolami—wrote an introduction to the special series. In their introduction, Lemons et al. provide context by referring to the nearly 50-year history of special education in the US and then pose three pertinent questions⁴ about special education for the future or children and youths with disabilities in the diverse countries of Earth:

What do we mean by “inclusive special education?”

What makes special education special?

How do we prioritize the “individuals” in IDEA?

Here is the citation and abstract for the Lemons et al. introductory paper:

Lemons, C. J., Vaughn, S., & Alsolami, A. (2024). Inclusive special education: What do we mean and what do we want? Remedial and Special Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325241268856

The United States will soon recognize the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Considering the past 50 years in special education, we organized this special issue of Remedial and Special Education focused on inclusive education of students with disabilities in international contexts. Just as a broad array of educators in the US have grappled with improving how the education system might most effectively include students with disabilities, educational leaders in various countries across the globe have been addressing the same question: How can we design inclusive education for students with disabilities that effectively meets their needs? The manuscripts included in this special issue represent five countries—India, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. Each paper presents background on the inclusion of students with disabilities within the focus country and highlights recent advances in and proposes next steps for policy, practice, and research. Collectively, we hope the issue expands readers’ thinking about what special education could be, encourages our community to set specific goals for our next ‘milestone anniversary,’ and ignites conversations about the specific steps we need to accomplish our goals.

The papers

Here are the citations and abstracts for the articles in the series. I have ordered them alphabetically; because the issue of the journal is not yet available, they may appear in print in a different order.

Alsolami, A. (2024). The educational journey of students with disabilities in Saudi Arabia: From isolation to inclusive education. Remedial and Special Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325241240058

In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has put considerable effort toward improving justice and equity for people with disabilities in education. One of the three main dimensions of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program is to support all citizens, especially those with disabilities. However, more efforts are still needed to achieve meaningful inclusive education. This analysis sheds light on the challenges, successes, and important factors that have affected the educational landscape for individuals with disabilities in Saudi Arabia and offers recommendations for improving and sustaining inclusive educational practice. In particular, technology solutions need to be implemented to provide effective training for special education professionals, and the current curriculum should be reevaluated to suit special education standards. Preparing special education teachers and other personnel to adapt the curriculum to suit students with disabilities is an important step toward full inclusion in Saudi Arabia.

Balasubramanian, L., & Banerjee, I. (2024). Invoking the divine on the path to inclusive education: India’s contextual realities. Remedial and Special Education, https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325241260751.

Understanding inclusive education challenges in India involves acknowledging the complex linguistic, cultural, religious, and caste-based diversity affecting marginalized groups. Ambiguity surrounds implementing the inclusion concept, necessitating critical evaluation and adaptation to align with India’s unique dynamics. Despite increased enrollment (61%), concerns persist about omitting some children from inclusive education benefits, suggesting exclusivity. The 2020 National Education Policy aims for equitable opportunities, but challenges remain in implementation and access. Interchangeable terms (e.g., inclusion vs. integration) and a lack of differentiation hinder progress. Robust research on classroom practices is vital to establish effective strategies, support families, and address diverse student needs. This multifaceted issue requires consideration of India-specific contexts. India’s interpretation of inclusive education varies based on disability severity, and solutions should account for political, historical, and cultural contexts and the beliefs and experiences of disabled individuals.

Kaizu, A., & Tamaki, M. (2024). Current issues and future directions of inclusive education in Japan. Remedial and Special Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325241240061

Inclusive education in Japan was developed on the foundation of special needs education (SNE), which began in the early 2000s. There are various arguments as to whether the current multi-track system of SNE extending from segregated special needs schools to general education classrooms will lead to inclusive education, which is the goal of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This study focuses on the movement for system reform of the SNE and examines its current status and challenges. It also discusses recent policy trends in general education classrooms that have affected the promotion of inclusive education. Furthermore, while making a global comparison using Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data, this paper highlights Japan’s advantages and challenges in achieving inclusive education. Finally, it examines the conditions for realizing a new Japanese-style inclusive education.

Kim, U., Kim, A., Kim, B., & Baek, J. (2024). Inclusive education in South Korea. Remedial and Special Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325241240060

Over the past few decades, inclusive education in South Korea has continued to grow both in quantity and quality. The purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to report on the legal basis and the current status of inclusive education in South Korea and (b) to synthesize policy tasks and prominent outcomes related to inclusive education in South Korea. The major findings are as follows. First, according to the 2022 Special Education Annual Report provided by the Ministry of Education, approximately 73% of students eligible for special education received either part-time (56% of students) or full-time (17% of students) inclusive education. Second, it was found that there were significant outcomes in the five elements of support (i.e., human support, social climate support, physical environment support, curriculum support, and financial and operational support), which are quality indicators of inclusive education. Based on these findings, we discuss issues of inclusive education, future directions, and suggestions for the further development of inclusive education in South Korea.

Næss, K. A. B., Hokstad, S., Furnes, B. R., Hesjedal, E., & Østvik, J. (2024). Inclusive education for students with special education needs in Norway. Remedial and Special Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325241260750

This narrative review aims to present and discuss the Norwegian school system as a context for inclusive education. Despite its clear political intentions, Norway lacks a common definition of inclusion and has limited insight into the quality of inclusive practices that are commonly implemented for students with special education needs (SEN) and the results of such practices. This study reveals that students with SEN are often educated in segregated settings and by staff lacking educational competence. Hence, future policy actions should prioritize the development of a common terminology and a report system that includes students with SEN. As SEN resources in Norway are allocated based on a lack of satisfactory learning outcomes from mainstream education and often result in segregated actions, an increased focus on school society, learning environments, educational practices, and individual learning outcomes is required. Additional research is needed to identify practices that can promote high-quality inclusion of students in Norwegian schools.

Commentaries

As in customary in special series, the guest editors invited scholars of substantial renown to review the papers and offer comments about them. Two eminent colleagues contributed commentaries for this series: Douglas Fuchs and Michael Wehmeyer.

Fuchs, D. (2024). The Elusive Meaning of Inclusive Education in Five Countries—and the United States. Remedial and Special Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325241268867

In this commentary, I reflect on the papers in this special issue that describe inclusion in five countries. More specifically, I highlight several themes among the authors’ descriptions of both progress and challenges as their respective countries try to provide students with disabilities a stronger, more inclusive educational experience. I compare and contrast this effort to efforts in the United States to properly understand and implement an inclusive education that benefits all children and youth with disabilities.

Wehmeyer, M. L. (20224). A fourth generation of inclusive education: A commentary. Remedial and Special Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325241260753

Special education as an organized, legislatively mandated entity is roughly 50 years old in many parts of the world. Most schools around the world continue to struggle to provide inclusive education for students with disabilities, sharing common barriers and experiencing their own unique barriers. This commentary discusses international initiatives that have focused on inclusive education and proposes a fourth generation of inclusive practices that align with worldwide changes in the education system.

Summary

So, there you have it. I suspect that this series of papers will be discussed widely among scholars. I also suspect that some readers will come away from reading these papers with a sense that the papers vindicate their own ideas. Others may come away irritated that the authors didn’t seem to mention (let alone validate) their particular biases about international issues in special education.

Even if it seems to be a new issue, inclusion has a long history. Michael Wehmeyer argues that the current emphasis on inclusive education is actually a fourth wave in a larger movement. Indeed, the matter of access to education has a much longer history in the US than just since the 1990s or even since the authorization of IDEA (as PL 94-142). Although she was not writing about international special education, Zedlar (1953; reread that year, please) argued that

The right of the exceptional child who is mentally or physically handicapped to equal opportunity for education with other children, regardless of deviation has evolved from a gradual but decided change in public opinion during the last three quarters of a century. [emphasis added]

This special series is the most recent example of examinations of international special education. As Potts (1995) argued, it is often difficulty to separate the reporting of history of special education and advocacy for a particular view of the endeavor. Still, interested readers may way to review papers by Armstrong (2002), Banks et al. (2015), Jahnukainen (2011), Keller and Martin (2024a, 2024b), Kim et al. (2019), Lloyd et al. (2007), Marches (1998), Wehmeyer and Patton (2017), Wood and Bates (2020), and others. It is also likely instructive to keep up with the Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES) of the Council for Exceptional Children and the DISES journal,

It will be fascinating to watch for progeny of the articles in this special series. What will future scholars make of them? How will they be interpreted by other international scholars? To what extent will these articles prove to advance special education in in any one or many countries?

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References

Armstrong, F. (2002). The historical development of special education: humanitarian rationality or 'wild profusion of entangled events'? History of Education, 31(5), 437-456. https://doi.org/10.1080/004676002101533627

Banks, J., Frawley, d., & McCoy, S. (2015). Achieving inclusion? Effective resourcing of students with special educational needs. International Journal of Inclusive Education 19(9), 926–943. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2015.1018344

Jahnukainen, M. (2011). Different strategies, different outcomes? The history and trends of the inclusive and special education in Alberta (Canada) and in Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 55(5), 489-502.

Keller C., & Martin, S. (2024a). A History of International Engagement in the Council for Exceptional Children Since 1980. Part 1: Organizational Components. Journal of International Special Needs Education. https://doi.org/10.9782/JISNE-D-23-00005R2

Keller C., & Martin, S. (2024b). A History of International Engagement in the Council for Exceptional Children Since 1980. Part 2: Functions of a professional organization. Journal of International Special Needs Education. https://doi.org/10.9782/JISNE-D-23-00004

Kim, E., Zhang, J., & Sun, X. (2019). Comparison of special education in the United States, Korea, and China. International Journal of Special Education, 33(4), 796-814. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1219486

Lloyd, J. W., Keller, C., & Hung, L. Y. (2007). International understanding of learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 22(3), 159-160. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5826.2007.00240.x

Marchesi, A. (1998). International perspectives on special education reform. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 13(1), 116-122.

Potts, P. (1995). What’s the use of history? Understanding educational provision for disabled students and those who experience difficulties in learning. British Journal of Educational Studies, 43(4), 398-411. http://www.jstor.com/stable/3121808

Wehmeyer, M. L., & Patton, J. R. (Eds.). (2017). The Praeger International Handbook of Special Education (vol 1-3). Bloomsbury.

Wood, P., & Bates, S. (2020). National and international approaches to special education needs and disability provision. Education, 48(3), 255–257. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2019.1664395

Zedler, E. Y. (1953). Public opinion and public education for the exceptional child: Court decisions 1873-1950, Exceptional Children, 19(5), 187-198.

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Footnotes

I recognize that the full papers are likely behind the publisher’s paywall for some readers. Of course, academics among the readers will likely have access via their universities or organizations. If you don’t have direct access, you may be able to secure copies by going to a local institution of higher education and seeking help there.

I hope I have those spellings and landmarks right. Salamanca peeps, please correct me!

This document is sometimes known as “The Salamanca Declaration.” It is discussed by Balasubramania and Banerjee; Fuchs; Naess et al.; and Wehmeyer in their papers.

To my reading, it appears that there is a question of substantial importance included in the body of their paper that is not expressly highlighted in the headings of their manuscript (from whence I snagged the enumerated questions): How can we design inclusive education for students with disabilities that effectively meets their needs?

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