Inclusion and special educational needs

Special Educational Needs (SEN) is an area that is simultaneously fascinating and complex. Although in historical terms it is a relatively recent expression, being brought to prominence through the Warnock Report (1978), in many ways it involves questions that are central to concepts of our humanity. What is the duty of the State to the individual? What compromises must the individual make to be part of a group? What is it to be different and who decides what the parameters of difference are? SEN has grown out of the fertile soil of politics, philosophy, medicine, ethics and pedagogy and all are set in a linguistic minefield. This chapter considers interpretation of the terminology associated with inclusion and SEN. It considers changes in attitudes to children with SEN over the last century and the reasons for this, recent legislation on provision for children with SEN and the implications for teachers in primary schools. Throughout, there is a discussion of inclusion as a contested concept, the efficiacy of the legislation, disparity between the ideology and practice and the complex and difficult decisions which teachers are involved in making. Case studies and activities involve readers in developing their own understanding of their roles in decision making and their views about problematic issues.