International Practices in Special Education: Debates and Challenges

Introduction: A Comparative Perspective on Special Education

1 Margret A. Winzer and Kas Mazurek Introduction: A Comparative Perspective on Special Education Over the past 3 decades, the concepts and practices of special education, and in particular inclusive schooling, have assumed the momentum of a general globalized phenomenon. The ideas have so piqued the interest of educators, legislators, and parents that inclusive schooling is now placed firmly on the social change agenda and has become an international movement. Inclusion is one of the most significant, enduring, popular, and widespread reform movements in contemporary education. But even as a growing number of nations embrace the philosophy and concepts, it is only very recently that scholarly attention has been paid to the realities of implementation in various national and cultural settings. As the inclusion movement emerges more urgently around the world, its processes and practices require scrutiny and examination from a variety of pragmatic and theoretical perspectives. International Practices in Special Education: Debates and Challenges is designed to provide a broad overview of special education and inclusive schooling as conceptualized and practiced in the world today. The text analyzes changes and developments in contemporary special education through the perspectives of national case studies, which provide a rich database and broad international views. Our major goal is not merely to present details of prevalence figures, etiologies, and rehabilitation and special education efforts around the world, important as these in themselves may be. The object is to investigate special education practice within its social context with a particular emphasis on the varied parameters, threads, and challenges involved in the current international movement toward inclusive schooling. In this opening chapter, we begin by introducing the text and the contributing authors. We then examine two core areas—inclusive schooling and comparative studies. Finally, to assist readers in comparing and contrasting the threads that arise, we delineate the main themes that arise from the chapters. THE TEXT AND THE AUTHORS International Practices in Special Education: Debates and Challenges was compiled to provide a comprehensive cultural, social, political, demographic, and educational overview of a number of countries that are grappling with the complexities of inclusive schooling. The nations sampled are not simply part of a world journey: As can readily be seen from the table of contents, they encompass a sizable percentage of the world’s population. However, much more important than the absolute number of people our nations represent is why International Practices.indb 1 International Practices.indb 1 10/14/11 5:45 PM 10/14/11 5:45 PM 2 Introduction the countries in this book were chosen. One criterion was to profile high interest and geopolitically significant nations. Another was to include nations that are illustrative of important dynamics and lessons for understanding the principles, practices, and challenges of special education and inclusive schooling. A critical question in comparative education books employing the case study approach is: Who shall speak for the nations represented? Overwhelmingly, nationals are the authors of the chapters that follow. We invited scholars who are active professionals in a variety of disciplines—education, psychology, sociology, rehabilitation, and educational administration—and who are involved in some way in special education. Our quest was to obtain and convey a truly intimate knowledge of societies and schools; one that only an “insider” can adequately capture. THE INCLUSI V E AGENDA The generic term inclusion refers to the social and educational inclusion of persons traditionally marginalized, excluded, or oppressed so as to empower them to determine the trajectory of their own lives through access to the required goods and services needed to realize their potential (Winzer & Mazurek, 2009). Inclusion is defined by an inspiring litany of moral imperatives. Fundamentally, it is a human rights agenda, promoted and advanced on the basis of social policy considerations that address social justice, individual rights, equal access, nondiscrimination, and equity of opportunity. Inclusion is seen as an imperative to social cohesion in increasingly diverse communities , as well the most effective way to combat discriminatory attitudes, create welcoming communities, build an inclusive society, and achieve education for all (UNESCO, 2000, 2003, 2009). Inclusive schooling is a coupling of a social justice agenda, an egalitarian sense of rights, and the responsibility to provide every child with the best possible education. It resides within the conceptual framework of human rights, equity, and diversity, grounded in the belief that education is a fundamental human right, the axis to enjoy other human rights, and the foundation for more just societies (UNESCO, 2003). Inclusion serves to develop and promote respect for a...