ABSTRACT

In recent years, much has been written about efforts to include pupils identified as having special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools and classrooms. Three main strands can be seen in this literature. One is about equal opportunities and the right to education for all. It argues that any form of segregated or separate education on the basis of disability or learning difficulty is morally wrong (Jordan and Goodey, 1996). A second strand is based on a reconceptualisation of the special needs task as part of the process of school improvement (Ainscow, 1991). This idea is based on the argument that it is the structure of schools as organisations rather than differences between individual pupils that creates special educational needs (Tomlinson, 1982; Skrtic, 1988). The third strand of the literature has been concerned with questions of pedagogy. Though some have focused on the development of inclusive practice from the outset (e.g. Forest and Pearpoint, 1992), others have considered whether or not the teaching practices and methods associated with meeting special educational needs can be implemented in mainstream schools and classrooms in order to meet the challenge of inclusive education (see for example, Cook and Schirmer, 2003).