Special education reform towards inclusive education : blurring or expanding boundaries of special and regular education in China

Abstract

China has developed a three-tier special education service delivery system consisting of an array of placement options of special schools, special classes and learning in regular classrooms (LRC) (with the LRC as the major initiative) to serve students with disabilities after 1980s responding to the international trend of inclusive education mandate. How to balance the development of special education schools (classes) and inclusive education remains controversial. The authors found that special education provision in China has been improved in scale and quality with the expansion of special schools and LRC programmes both to have formed a parallel special education system. The authors argue that the boundaries between special and regular education system are enlarged and blurred in different situations. This reflects that the move towards inclusive education in China has been largely underpinned by its specific cultural values and conflicts between the pursuit of academic excellence and new goal of universalising basic education for all. The Chinese pragmatic practice of inclusive education shows that special schools should be a part of, instead of apart from, inclusive education, and thus should be re-empowered with new roles to support and facilitate inclusive education.