Inclusive Education, International Perspectives

Definitions of inclusive education vary across nations, states or provinces, schools, and even across inclusive education literature. These definitions range from providing access to schools for all students—as is the case in many countries where part of the school-age population does not have access to schools—to the transformation of existing educational systems for the participation and success of all students. In the United States, for instance, inclusive education tends to be defined as access to the general education classroom for students with disabilities. At the international level, however, inclusive education is a political movement that focuses on dismantling all forms of exclusion that prevent any student from receiving quality educational opportunities that support and prepare them to achieve their fullest potential. This focus is often ...