Abstract:
The issue of inclusion of all students within the education system in New Zealand has long been the subject of fierce debate. Most recently, this debate has revolved around the Ministry of Education’s Special Education 2000 policy.
This paper will construct a critical analysis of the evolution of the inclusion movement from an education perspective. It will analyse the impact of three paradigms of disability on the development of inclusion - medical, social/ rights and organisational reform. It will compare and contrast pivotal pieces of legislation that have impacted on inclusion in New Zealand, Australia and the United States and discuss, in more detail, the Special Education 2000 policy, recently introduced in New Zealand.