Navigating Contested Perspectives in Special Education

Bringing together researchers with different approaches to special education on ideological, theoretical and ethical levels, this book provides a multifaceted approach to practice, policy and theory to foster dialogue and meaningful discussion towards best practices in special education.

Chapters explore key themes such as the nature and identity of special education, the differences at both local and national levels between special and inclusive education practices, and the issue of contested terminology, acknowledging how a lack of consensus can dilute meaning or cause confusion within different educational settings. Case study chapters report from a rich wealth of international settings such as Norway, Nepal, Denmark, Britain, and Finland, using research gathered from autoethnographies, qualitative interviews and questionnaires from primary, secondary and higher educational contexts.

Demonstrating how different perspectives can support organised and more coherent special education that benefits a diversity of children and young people, both socially and academically, this book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of inclusion and special education, childhood education and education policy and politics.