ABSTRACT
Attempts to ensure equality of opportunity and outcomefor students with special educational needs are seriously undermined, Richard Rose argues, by negative categorizations. These are shown to be rooted (like other prejudice) in the lack of knowledge brought to the subject of different abilities. This is evident in the names, attitudes, concepts and medical taxonomy applied in the past, through to the inappropriate standards of assessment deployed within modern education. The chapter defines the major impact of the Education Act 1970 and the Warnock report (1978) on the improvement of teaching provision, and on subsequent debate about the integration, inclusion and rights of students with special educational needs. Persistent confusions and obstructions are also identified. These are ultimately offset by proposals to ensure the proper, informed definition of equality in specific relation to disability.
