ABSTRACT

Throughout the European Union there is a rhetoric of support for the inclusion in mainstream education of children and young people with disabilities and those who experience difficulties in learning. However, cultural and economic differences between countries have led to marked variations in policy and practice. Christine O’Hanlon argues that we have not paid sufficient attention to developments in southern Europe, and her chapter is a comparative discussion of developments in Spain and Greece. Spanish policy has been reconstructed, since the death of Franco, on the principle of equality of opportunity and there is a strong political will to implement plans for inclusive education. Greece, on the other hand, has not passed legislation to back up its rhetorical support for inclusion. There are enormous economic and geographical barriers to overcome, as well as the persistence of a defect model of disability and difficulties in learning.