Presentation: Special Education in the face of Inclusive Education

Abstract

Since the ideas of inclusive education began to circulate, considered by some theorists as the greatest challenge facing education systems worldwide (Ainscow, 2002; Acedo, 2008), special education has been seen as the bad girl in the film. It has been suggested that it should disappear, or else change to conform to the ideas of inclusion, or even merge with general education. Already in previous issues of the Latin American Journal of Inclusive Education (RLEI) Guajardo acknowledged a certain ‘de-professionalisation’ of special education teachers. He commented that these professionals ‘can no longer apply their knowledge derived from the medical model, nor have they learned that of the educational model, and it has been difficult for technicians to find an effective strategy to update it’ (p. 121). For their part, Moliner, Sales and Moliner (2011), pointed out that ‘It is time to leave behind prejudices, professionalisms and labels, specialisations, differentiated and differentiating treatments and all those practices which, legitimised normatively, mask a selective ideology and which, in the name of guaranteeing equal opportunities, allow segregating and discriminatory responses to be perpetuated’ (n.p.).