Bolstered by the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), inclusion became part of the education vernacular. This chapter provides a review of key highlights in the history of inclusive education. The impact of deficit thinking and role of social justice are emphasized as undercurrents driving legislative changes. The authors propose systems thinking as a method to identify actionable items for advancing inclusive education. An overview of promising inclusive frameworks, specifically Universal Design for Learning and social-emotional learning, are described and recommended for embedding inclusive practices into daily practice within the education system.
TopIntroduction
Over the last century, the focus of special education has been to increase access, equity, and inclusion for students with disabilities. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) describes inclusive education as an education system where all children, including those with diverse needs, learn together within the same schools and classrooms with equitable access to a continuum of support and services which match their needs (UNESCO, 2006b). The movement for inclusive education has grown and expanded around the world over the past few decades. Spurred on by the signing of the Salamanca Statement by 92 nations in 1994 (UNESCO, 1994), the world appeared determined to move past deficit thinking, segregation, institutionalization, and the denial of education for children with disabilities that characterized generations before. Nationally and internationally, legislation acknowledges research supporting inclusive education as the most beneficial educational model for all students, improving students' academic and social-emotional skills across the spectrum of abilities and needs (IDEA, 2004; EHA, 1975; UNESCO, 1994). Interpretations and implementations of inclusive education as defined by UNESCO remain varied (Smith et al., 2011; Kurth et al., 2018). Deficit thinking (Dudley-Marling & Burns, 2014; Valencia, 2010) and adherence to a purely medical model of disability (Goodley, 2014; Shakespeare, 2006) contribute to this variation across schools and continues to stifle the comprehensive adoption of full inclusion and the development of systems and structures to support it. This holds true for the adoption and implementation of inclusive education in the United States. Regardless of varying viewpoints on what constitutes inclusion, adhering to the spirit of the Salamanca Statement and its call for all students to be effectively and equitably educated together can serve as a direction for future efforts.
In the United States, the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) established inclusion as a right for students with disabilities. The introduction of the IDEA explicitly states:
Disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate in or contribute to society. Improving educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities. (IDEA, 2004, §1400)