In Pursuit of Excellence: The Past as Prologue to a Brighter Future for Special Education

Lessons from the Past and Challenges for the Future: Inclusive Education for Students with Unique Needs

“…Research has systematically built a database upon which empirically-based strategies have been developed [2,7]. Some of that research revealed what was ineffective [1], but a great deal of research hinted at relationships that needed to be explored and built upon to develop educational programs that fostered student success [14]. What resulted was the development of a body of literature that distinguished promising practices from those that were either ineffective or inappropriate to deal with the needs of children and youth exhibiting academic deficits or challenging behavior [14].…”

“…Most students benefit from an egalitarian philosophy whereby our system of public education has sought to do the "greatest good for the most students" [1], some students struggle to perform successfully within such a system and manifest learning and/or behavior problems that may be serious enough to impede their classroom performance and put them "at-risk" for failure. Some of these difficulties may be behavioral in nature and negatively affect their ability to interact appropriately with classmates or with adults [2].…”