ABSTRACT
Some special education commentators such as Heshusius (1991) take the radical position of seeking to question the foundations of science, as does Lyotard’s report for the Quebec government (Lyotard, F. ([1979]/1984). Others accept scientific understanding as it applies to the hard sciences, but question its application to the social fields. In the latter view, special education may be presented as being based on apparently scientific foundations, such as psychology and sociology. These disciplines are
The knowledge on which special education draws has been developed over a considerable period, for example, in Europe, from the days of the first schools for blind children in the eighteenth century. Its strength as a foundation has been questioned, however.
