A Study Of Inclusive Education In The U.S.A.

As one of the the most important educational thoughts in the late 20th century, Inclusive Education emphasizes to offer free and appropriate public education to all learners, especially children with special needs. Since the principle of inclusive education has been adopted at the World Conference on Special Needs Education:Access and Quality (Salamanca, Spain,1994), many countries have started the discussion on the concept and applied it to practice. The United States is the pioneer to carry out the practice of inclusive education, achieving more fruitful results than that of other countries in this field. With the advancement of inclusive education movement and the continued promulgation of relevant laws, the concept of inclusive education has been effectively promoted. So far, the impact of inclusive education has become the most important factor in American education reform, it also affects the operation of the nation's public education system and every student directly or indirectly. Since the implementation of inclusive education, the United States has accumulated rich experience and worthy reference for other countries to learn from.The dissertation is divided into four parts in addition to the introduction part:Chapter One makes a clear the definition of inclusive education. Different scholars and organizations have different statements on the definition and the concept of inclusive education, but the cores can be summed up as strengthening the students' participation and reducing their exclusion.Chapter Two describes the historical development of inclusive education. The author introduces the issue from the perspective of social history and the cultural background. Inclusive education in the U.S. mainly undergoes four stages:the return to mainstream education campaign, the general education initiative, the first inclusive education and the second inclusive education.Chapter Three introduces the U.S. policy and implementation of inclusive education. The development of inclusive education receives support and help from the federal government to the communities, and the release of related legislation in the U.S. reflects the promotion of inclusive education.The teaching in schools, the assessment methods and the demands in teachers' competency have also been adjusted accordingly.Chapter Four analyzes the U.S. reference of inclusive education for the education reform in China. The author attempts to extract the reasins why inclusive education can enlight the ongoing reform of education system in China.