Meeting Student Needs in an Inclusive Environment: Waiting for the Change

Abstract

Educating students with disabilities in the same classrooms and instructional environments as their natural neighbors and peers (i.e., inclusion) is a promise of significant substance and value for many special educators. When federal legislation mandated that students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate education in least restrictive environments, at least in principle, the schoolhouse doors were opened for all students. In this chapter, we provide a brief historical review of efforts to educate students with disabilities in inclusive environments and provide direction for what we believe are important practices for creating high-quality inclusive learning environments.

Citation

Algozzine, B., Anderson, K. and Baughan, C. (2016), "Meeting Student Needs in an Inclusive Environment: Waiting for the Change", General and Special Education Inclusion in an Age of Change: Roles of Professionals Involved (Advances in Special Education, Vol. 32), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 119-136. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0270-401320160000032008