The field of special educational needs and inclusive education is not only of enormous importance to the study of education as a whole, it also constitutes a site of major debate. Conflicting paradigms include: Changes in the conceptualisation of special needs; The role of assessment; The extent to which students with special needs should and can be educated in regular school settings; The relative weight given to central versus local control of education Pedagogical issues. In all of these paradigm clashes, countries are at different stages in reaching settlements. These difficulties reflect a range of factors, including intellectual traditions, cultural values, economic circumstances, and demography. The articles assembled in this collection provide a global perspective on these debates. The collection as a whole demonstrates how the fields of special education and inclusive education have evolved philosophically and technically over the past 30 years, as well as showing the contemporary state of approaches to educating students with special education needs.
