Page No.18-29
Peter Farrell
Manchester University Institute of Education, UK
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Over the last thirty years there have been numerous publications from academics and
practitioners that have focused on various aspects of inclusive education. Virtually all of
these are based on the premise that inclusive education is a ‘good thing’ and should be
promoted in all countries of the world, including India. But, despite the plethora of books
and articles on the subject, there remains some confusion among key stakeholders,
for example parents, policy makers and practitioners, about the definition of inclusive
education and about the extent to which findings from research have made a contribution
to the development of effective inclusive practice. In order to shed some light on this
confusing picture this paper begins with a brief historical review of contrasting definitions
of inclusion and inclusive education leading to a proposed operational framework that
focuses on the extent to which included pupils are present in a mainstream environment,
accepted by others, actively participate and achieve. The second half of this paper
uses this framework to consider how it can inform our understanding of existing and
future research with particular emphasis on two specific studies that have focused on
the relationship between inclusion and pupil achievement. The concluding discussion
considers promising areas for further research on inclusive education in India.
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