ABSTRACT
There are many features of the Utopian Republic which I should like – though I hardly expect – to see adopted in Europe.
Thomas More (1516) Utopia (Book Two)
During the latter half of the twentieth century great strides were made in the UK to provide a more equitable and comprehensive system of education which addressed the needs of all pupils. Milestones, such as the Education (Handicapped Children) Act (1970), which brought a small but significant number of pupils into the education system for the first time, and the Warnock Report (1978), which attempted to provide a blueprint for future educational provision for pupils with special educational needs, whilst never fully realising their ambitious agenda, brought special needs issues to the forefront of education consideration. The desire to provide a fairer society that would enable each individual to play a full part has been a driving force behind many of the developments in special education. At the heart of the recent debate has been the means by which schools may become more inclusive and effective in enabling all pupils to receive a balanced education which recognises individuality whilst overcoming segregation. The attainment of a more inclusive society, whilst not solely the responsibility of teachers in schools, is most likely to be achieved only when we have developed a more equitable education system. Florian (1998) has emphasised the necessity to adopt a definition of inclusion which enables us to clarify our meaning and to ensure that we work together towards a common goal. In a previous book (Tilstone, Florian and
Rose, 1998) we adopted the definition of inclusion put forward by Inclusion International:
Inclusion refers to the opportunities for persons with a disability to participate fully in all of the educational, employment, consumer, recreational, community and domestic activities that typify everyday society.
