What is it about?
For children with special educational needs, seeds were sown for the move away from segregated settings to inclusion in mainstream settings following the 1978 Warnock Report. However, the ‘special versus mainstream school’ debate was re-ignited in 2005 when Warnock recommended a more significant role for special schools than previously envisaged. Furthermore, an increase in special school placement has been reported, prompting this investigation of the role of special schools in the current climate of inclusion.
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Why is it important?
The article is important because it highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the different types of settings. The quality of the setting, regardless of the type of setting, is emphasised, highlighting implications for staff training in special and mainstream schools. Further research comparing outcomes for children educated in different types of provision is recommended.
Perspectives
My completion of my B.Ed. in Special Education coincided with the significant period in the history of Special Education in England with the Warnock Report (DES, 1978) and 1981 Education Act which sought to transform the educational provision of ‘handicapped’ children by introducing the term ‘special educational needs’ (SEN) and advocating the integration of children with SEN in mainstream schools as opposed to segregation in special schools. I completed a teaching practice in a special school for ‘educationally subnormal’ (the derogatory term used at the time) children. At the time I was 'blown away' by the revolutionary ideas in the Warnock Report about integration and the new terminology. Thirty five years later I carried out this literature review to update my knowledge of recent research and perspectives relating to the role of special and mainstream schools in the current climate of inclusion and to prompt discourse on the issue.
Ms Anne Shaw
University of Bolton
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This page is a summary of: Inclusion: the role of special and mainstream schools, British Journal of Special Education, September 2017, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/1467-8578.12181.
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