General and Special Education Inclusion in an Age of Change: An Introduction

Inclusion is a concept that has been around for years and is implemented in our schools. Some schools do it well and others are still working on it. Inclusion is meant to include students with disabilities in the general education classroom and curriculum. This chapter will briefly discuss special education as well as inclusion. Inclusion will be defined, and benefits and also myths of inclusion will be discussed. In addition, research that supports inclusion will be described. This chapter lays the foundation for the other chapters in this volume that will discuss inclusion and students with specific types of disabilities.