PRAGMATISM, IDEOLOGY AND EDUCATIONAL-CHANGE - THE CASE OF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL-NEEDS

A major theme of recent debate and policy development in the area of s pecial education is that of inclusion: the placement of all pupils in mainstream schools and the development of curriculum and pedagogy to m eet the needs of all. Analysis of national statistical data shows some movement in this direction, but of a slow and very uneven kind. An ex ploration of the concepts of pragmatism to describe an important aspec t of LEA decision making and of ideology to describe an important aspe ct of pressures for inclusion helps to explain this pattern of develop ment. The paper concludes that both approaches require further systema tic empirical data on the outcomes of different patterns of educationa l provision.