General labels tend to obscure objective realities upon which disability rights are based and can deny individuals with disabilities their educational and civil rights. Undoubtedly, stigma can come from labels unnecessarily categorizing people into separate groups. However, stigma does not reside primarily in disability categories/terms but in…

This paper explores the debatable usefulness of the categorisation of Special Educational Needs considering evidence from the literature. Classification systems of SEN are discussed through a brief historical review. In addition, the language of special education and the potential consequences of such a classification and labels are explored.…

The importance of student-teacher relationships is well established. However, research suggests that students in special education tend to experience lower quality student-teacher relationships than their peers in general education. Of particular importance is the developing research indicating that students with emotional and behavioral disorders…

The purpose of this study is to investigate how K-12 school districts can create and increase a positive working relationship with parents and guardians who have students that are actively going through the initial evaluation process to determine if their student meets eligibility criteria to receive special education services. A phenomenological…

The implementation of inclusive practices in mainstream education remains particularly difficult in the French context and is influenced by various factors including the types of disability labels, and the type of assessment practices that are used. Indeed, how student disability is labelled could impact teacher attitudes by notably disfavouring…

The history of the Hilfsschule (special school) is contested and multifaceted. For the German context, most research to date has focused on institutions or professional pioneers in special education. This paper, through a "New Historicism" perspective, asks how a group of pupils, described as "retarded", could become a new…

It is estimated that about 7.3 million (or about 15%) public school students are currently enrolled in Special Education in the United States, and their enrollment has increased steadily over the past decade (U.S. Department of Education 2023). Students in Special Education can be labeled as 'different' and/or 'disabled'. These labels may be…

The article investigates how a change in educational status from general education to special education is associated with students' social confidence and academic outcomes. This study uses longitudinal data, a difference-in-difference model, and propensity score matching techniques. Findings indicate that students placed in special education, on…

In this reflective piece the author focuses on the meaning that he made of inclusion in a book that was published almost twenty years ago. He then reflects on the meaning he makes of the current situation. He explores the problematic nature of the concept of inclusion, whether labels actually enable inclusion, research-informed implications of…

This study explores the needs and experiences of refugee parents of emergent bilingual students labeled as disabled (EB/LADs) and their networks of interpreters and community-based educators. This investigation focuses on the relationships (and disconnects) within these networks related to language, migration, culture, race, disability, and…

The identification, diagnosis, and categorisation of students who qualified for special education have created long-standing controversy. This article explores Maximilian P. E. Groszmann's measurement practices, which were intended to facilitate instruction in the early twentieth-century United States. In 1900, Groszmann established a private…

Purpose: This comparative study explored the perceptions of educational stakeholders in Oman and the Philippines concerning children with disabilities and the goals of special education. Stakeholders' perspectives can influence their professional behaviours and attitudes, which, in turn, can profoundly impact children with disabilities who already…

Nine-year old Eliza is a student at Meadows Elementary School where she receives special education services for her diagnosis of Emotional Disturbance. Her teachers are working together to try to bring Eliza back into the classroom after weeks of time spent in the office with no contact with her peers. Mr. Jimenez and Ms. Landon are collaborating…

In the U.S. educational system, it is too common to see African American males overrepresented in special education classrooms, including segregated special education settings. African American males continuously experience disproportionate representation and placement in special education, especially under the label of ED (Harry & Anderson,…

Making public school accommodating of all learners such that the need for special education is obviated, or at least reduced, has long been a desideratum of educators. Various strategies for making general public education more accommodating of students with disabilities have been tried. The most recent efforts to improve the general education of…