Global Perspectives on Inclusion

In spite of all the rhetoric surrounding inclusion in the United States and abroad, many students continue to be excluded on the basis of presumed difference and “special ” needs (Ferri & Connor, 2005; Liasidou, 2008). Across the US, the risk of identification as disabled, and subsequent placement within a special education classroom, is greatest for certain culturally and linguistically diverse students (Zion & Blanchett, 2011). At the core of this dilemma are questions related to difference, perceptions surrounding it, and beliefs about how it is best responded to within schools. Since its inception, the field of special education has been guided by a medical mode