ABSTRACT
The curriculum in special education has to be seen in relation to the normal curriculum, whatever form that may take at a particular point in time. Pupils with special needs are not totally different from their peers, and neither is the education that should be offered to them. Special education has too long been bedevilled by isolation from the mainstream of schooling. The purpose of this chapter is to set out some basic ideas regarding the curriculum - what it encompasses in general terms and how the curriculum in special education is distinctive and outline some of the implications for practice. The emphasis in the first approach is on giving access to the mainstream curriculum, but content differences are envisaged especially in subjects which have a practical element. Assessment must be curriculum-led: the information collected is for the purpose of shaping pupil's learning activities in the most productive ways.
