ABSTRACT
The movement towards including all students in mainstream schools has gained unparalleled momentum in western societies since the 1950s and has continued into the new century (Brantlinger 1997; Villa and Thousand 2000). The mandate of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 (P.L. 94-142, reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990, IDEA) in the United States (Meyen and Skrtic 1998) has profoundly influenced the levels of educational opportunity made available to students with disabilities (Zigmond 1995), and provided the initial legal impetus for inclusive education (Villa and Thousand 2000).
