This book provides new information on how various inclusion policies have been implemented in different schools and school districts in North America and in a range of European countries. The purpose of inclusion policy is to prevent the marginalization of people who experience unfavorable circumstances in life. It is an approach to the education of students with disabilities that is based on a commitment to what all members of a free society deserve in order to become fully participating members--a fair chance to find a meaningful place in their own communities. This book is a kind of status report on what inclusive education has achieved and what it may achieve in the future for children and youth with disabilities. It describes the philosophical, legal, and practical terrain covered by inclusion policy in general and inclusive schooling in particular. Contributors assess inclusion policy and suggest ways to reconceptualize it, bringing to their data analysis a depth of experience and knowledge about public schooling in their respective countries. Although inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classes has been embraced by politicians and educators calling for equal opportunity in our society and is being incorporated into national and international education laws, it continues to be controversial and the debate is sometimes heated. A goal of this book is to shed some light on this debate. Is inclusion mostly about student placement? Are students with disabilities attaining social and learning membership in general classrooms? Have they benefitted from inclusion? How about students without disabilities? What have been the benefits? Must learning take second priority to socialization and friendship? Are teachers getting the training they need? How do parents feel about inclusion programs? How do students feel? What kind of curricular accommodations should be made? These and other questions are addressed. This volume is based on original papers presented by the contributing authors in October 1997 at the Rutgers Invitational Symposium on Education on Inclusive Schooling: National and International Perspectives.

This book provides new information on how various inclusion policies have been implemented in different schools and school districts in North America and in a range of European countries.
The purpose of inclusion policy is to prevent the marginalization of people who experience unfavorable circumstances in life. It is an approach to the education of students with disabilities that is based on a commitment to what all members of a free society deserve in order to become fully participating members--a fair chance to find a meaningful place in their own communities.
This book is a kind of status report on what inclusive education has achieved and what it may achieve in the future for children and youth with disabilities. It describes the philosophical, legal, and practical terrain covered by inclusion policy in general and inclusive schooling in particular. Contributors assess inclusion policy and suggest ways to reconceptualize it, bringing to their data analysis a depth of experience and knowledge about public schooling in their respective countries.
Although inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classes has been embraced by politicians and educators calling for equal opportunity in our society and is being incorporated into national and international education laws, it continues to be controversial and the debate is sometimes heated. A goal of this book is to shed some light on this debate. Is inclusion mostly about student placement? Are students with disabilities attaining social and learning membership in general classrooms? Have they benefitted from inclusion? How about students without disabilities? What have been the benefits? Must learning take second priority to socialization and friendship? Are teachers getting the training they need? How do parents feel about inclusion programs? How do students feel? What kind of curricular accommodations should be made? These and other questions are addressed.
This volume is based on original papers presented by the contributing authors in October 1997 at the Rutgers Invitational Symposium on Education on "Inclusive Schooling: National and International Perspectives."

'The book is illuminatory; it operationalizes or provides keys to operationalizing a process that is shrouded in mystery and mythology. It extends existing models of dealing with complexity and making sense of that complexity. It contains useful heuristics for theorizing that are usable and useful. I believe that the book is useful and of interest to a wider audience that just students in education and social sciences' - British Journal of Educational Psychology Through the use of compelling questions and examples, Dennis E Mithaug shows readers how to implement his four-step strategy to construct explanations for uncertainties about how things work, how they ought to work, and what should be done about them. He begins the book with an explanation of the practical features of constructive theorizing and shows how it mirrors general problem solving, practical reasoning, and self-regulated learning. He then demonstrates how to separate the facts, value and actions of a situation in order to clarify and understand their relationahip as well as how a thinking strategy assists in learning to theorize better.This book will enable readers to separate questions of fact, value and action - explain their differences and similarities - and summarize their explanations in a theory that reconstructs those facts, values and actions in a more credible and valuable way.

Equal Opportunity Theory is a clear and comprehensive examination of the idea of self determination: both the right to self-determination as well as its expression in our society. Author Dennis E. Mithaug examines society's collective responsibility for assuring fair prospects of self-determination for all people. This inclusive volume also describes how social policies derived from the theory of equal opportunity actually impact those with the least likely prospects for self-determination throughout their lives--the poor, the disabled, and people of color. Author Dennis E. Mithaug first presents the logical, philosophical, and psychological basis for equal opportunity theory and then presents its social and judicial background. From this foundation he shows how the optimal prospects principle derived from the theory decreases the discrepancy between the right and the experience of self-determination for children and adults with significant physical, mental, social, and economic disadvantages. Although the main thrust is theoretical, evidence in support of the theory is based upon a combination of empirical, historical, and logical sources. Addressing one of the hottest current topics in American society and public policy today, Equal Opportunity Theory's timeliness will make it of great interest to students and professionals in the fields of sociology, psychology, and political science. "In Equal Opportunity Theory, Dennis E. Mithaug writes about the discrepancy between the right to self-determination and the expression of that right, a problem that is salient to most Americans with disabilities and others who are less well situated in our society. This discrepancy manifests itself in what may be the most 'handicapping' aspect of having a disability, being poor, or being a member of a minority group that experiences frequent discrimination--the lack of control over one's life. Equal Opportunity Theory provides a thoughtful, interdisciplinary treatment of the complex issues related to this problem. The book provides an important differentiation of the impact of individual capacity and opportunity theory as a means to resolve the discrepancy between the right to and experience of self-determination for individuals whose personal, social, and economic circumstances are beyond their control. It also provides a valuable contribution to the debate concerning how best to empower and enable all individuals to live self-determined lives." --Michael L. Wehmeyer, The Arc National Headquarters

This book describes a constructive theorizing strategy that graduate students and applied searchers can use to improve their beliefs about contemporary social problems. Throughout the use of compelling questions and examples, Mithaug shows readers how to implement this (four-step) strategy to construct explanations for uncertainties about how things work, how they ought to work and what should be done about them. He begins the book with an explanation of the practical features of constructive theorizing and shows how it mirrors general problem solving, practical reasoning, and self-regulated learning. He then demonstrates how to separate the facts, values, and actions of a situation in order to clarify and understand their relationship as well as how a thinking strategy assists in learning to theorize better. This book will enable readers to separate questions of fact, value, and action; explain their differences and similarities; and summarize their explanations in a theory that reconstructs those facts, values, and actions in a more credible and valuable way.

Equal Opportunity Theory is a clear and comprehensive examination of the idea of self determination: both the right to self-determination as well as its expression in our society. Author Dennis E. Mithaug examines society's collective responsibility for assuring fair prospects of self-determination for all people. This inclusive volume also describes how social policies derived from the theory of equal opportunity actually impact those with the least likely prospects for self-determination throughout their lives--the poor, the disabled, and people of color. Author Dennis E. Mithaug first presents the logical, philosophical, and psychological basis for equal opportunity theory and then presents its social and judicial background. From this foundation he shows how the optimal prospects principle derived from the theory decreases the discrepancy between the right and the experience of self-determination for children and adults with significant physical, mental, social, and economic disadvantages. Although the main thrust is theoretical, evidence in support of the theory is based upon a combination of empirical, historical, and logical sources. Addressing one of the hottest current topics in American society and public policy today, Equal Opportunity Theory's timeliness will make it of great interest to students and professionals in the fields of sociology, psychology, and political science. "In Equal Opportunity Theory, Dennis E. Mithaug writes about the discrepancy between the right to self-determination and the expression of that right, a problem that is salient to most Americans with disabilities and others who are less well situated in our society. This discrepancy manifests itself in what may be the most 'handicapping' aspect of having a disability, being poor, or being a member of a minority group that experiences frequent discrimination--the lack of control over one's life. Equal Opportunity Theory provides a thoughtful, interdisciplinary treatment of the complex issues related to this problem. The book provides an important differentiation of the impact of individual capacity and opportunity theory as a means to resolve the discrepancy between the right to and experience of self-determination for individuals whose personal, social, and economic circumstances are beyond their control. It also provides a valuable contribution to the debate concerning how best to empower and enable all individuals to live self-determined lives." --Michael L. Wehmeyer, The Arc National Headquarters