ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the context for the debates about curricular content, teaching and learning styles and the management of the curriculum. Most pupils who are identified as having special educational needs are currently educated in mainstream schools. A relatively small proportion is educated in schools for pupils with learning difficulties. Pupils are labelled as 'autistic' provided they display sufficient of the characteristics associated with the condition. These characteristics were originally identified by the medical profession. The influence of developmental psychology on classroom practice for pupils with learning difficulties was evident. The use of psychometric tests to determine educability has a long history and is an extension of the use of IQ and diagnostic testing to determine school placement, a practice which still exists in some areas. The development of behavioural techniques based on the work of psychologists such as Skinner has had a powerful and lasting influence on the education of pupils with learning difficulties.
