Comparing special education : origins to contemporary paradoxes / John G. Richardson and Justin J. W. Powell

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part 1. The origins of special education -- 1. Ideas and institutions: the enlightenments, human nature and disability -- 2. Economic change, state making and citizenship -- Part 2. Comparing special education -- 3. The global institution of special education -- 4. Historical models and social logics of special education systems -- 5. The institutionalization of special education systems and their divergence over the twentieth century -- Part 3. Contemporary paradoxes -- 6. Special education participation and the simultaneous rise of segregation and inclusion -- 7. Rights, liberties and education in least and most restrictive environments: contrasting futures of public education and juvenile justice -- 8. Between global intentions and national persistence: from special education to inclusive education?

In today's schools the number of students who receive additional resources to access the curriculum is growing rapidly, and the ongoing expansion of special education is among the most significant worldwide educational developments of the past century. Yet even among developed democracies the range of access varies hugely, from one student in twenty to one student in three. In contemporary conflicts about educational standards and accountability, special education plays a key role as it draws the boundaries between exclusion and inclusion. Comparing Special Education unites in-depth comparative and historical studies with analyses of global trends, with a particular focus on special and inclusive education in the United States, England, France, and Germany. The authors examine the causes and consequences of various institutional and organizational developments, illustrate differences in forms of educational governance and social policy priorities, and highlight the evolution of social logics from segregation of students with special educational needs to their inclusion in local schools.