It is now widely believed in many Western countries that the segregation of students with special educational needs is problematic, and that wherever possible these students should be educated alongside their peers in regular education settings. There has been a general move towards integrating special and regular education into one system that caters for a much wider range of students. But the outcomes in various countries have been very different. This book describes and evaluates these outcomes. The book provides both quantitative and qualitative information, analysing the similarities and differences between integration practices in six Western countries.

A collection of conference papers on disability, handicap and policy. The intention behind the international conference was to provide a forum in which perspectives, research findings and policy developments could lead to a strengthening of our commitment to the empowerment of disabled people.

This monograph examines philosophies, policies, and practices of member nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development concerning the educational integration of children with disabilities. Information is based on a 1988 questionnaire sent to experts to collect data on relevant legislation and statutory instruments as well as statistical information on school services. Supplementary information included analysis of data collected on field trips, more recent surveys, reports and explanatory brochures, and books and articles on integration. Information focuses on the following countries: Australia, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. The narrative provides a comparative analysis on the following topics: (1) ways of defining people with disabilities, (2) changes in attitudes toward people with disabilities, (3) placement decisions, (4) differences in the application of integration, (5) training teachers and support staff, (6) the disabled who are integrated, (7) integration in different phases or levels of education, and (8) the future of integration. Annexes include U.S. legal definitions for various disabilities; tables which present numerical comparative data; and a listing of legislation, regulations, and official reports by country. (Contains 40 references.) (DB)

First published in 1975, this book looks at the place of children with handicaps in society, at that time. It argues that in the thirty years previous, a great deal of progress was made in the field of rehabilitation but that the separation between handicapped people and the community was still a challenge. A strong range of contributors discuss approaches to the problem focusing on education, employment, and daily life. Topics covered include the social aspects of integration, through the problems of the multiple-handicapped child, to a survey of disabled students at universities and polytechnics in Great Britain.