ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to review the history of special education and adapted physical education in the US and Canada with a focus on inclusion. The chapter begins with a review of the segregated model for children with disabilities in the late 1800s that persisted into the 1960s. This is followed by a summary of the 1960s and 70s where this was a shift from special schools to placements in general education schools as a result of the passage of the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA). Unfortunately, general physical educators were not trained to teach children with disabilities in their general classes. This led to the development of adapted physical education teacher education programmes in universities in the US. The chapter then shifts to the 1990s and the introduction of “inclusion”. This push for inclusion along with continued federal legislation led to many more children with disabilities having greater access to general education including placement in general physical education with supports. The chapter concludes with a synthesis of research on inclusion in the US and Canada over the past 30 years.
