The SAGE Handbook of Special Education

′This comprehensive handbook extends and challenges existing thinking and practice about special education and its place in the larger education system. It provides a rich and valuable resource for advanced professional learning and is highly recommended.′

-- Sharon P. Robinson

This book is a landmark publication. It marks a transformation in thinking about special educational needs, away from a focus on limitation and some, and towards inclusive, equitable provision for all.  The new understanding brings exciting possibilities and opportunities, and is to be warmly welcomed.

-- Professor Andrew Pollard
′This new edition of a well-established handbook provides a wide-ranging and stimulating overview of the special educational needs field.  It is a mine of information and challenging ideas. It is particularly timely as the UK legislation is being substantially revised – but the ideas are relevant beyond national boundaries.′ -- Professor Geoff Lindsay
′Since the 1994 Salamanca Declaration the world of special education has undergone a revolution, with commitments to the integration of children with special needs into mainstream schools and, later, a critical reflection on the extent to which those institutions themselves were inclusive. This book marks the possibility of another significant moment of change, perhaps best represented as a challenge to the ′normal curve′ assumptions of schooling. The new paradigm seeks to include everyone in the learning community of the classroom, even while recognising that all have individual differences that need to be accommodated: the key change lies in the starting assumption that all belong, not that some have to be ′fitted in′. If this is to be realised it will require new practices, new pedagogy, but most of all, entirely new conceptualisations about the nature of schools and schooling. The chapters in this book provide the roadmap for this revolution in our thinking and practice.′ -- Tony Gallagher

′We live in difficult times. The economic crisis severely affects people’s lives, attitudes and educational opportunities. In this context, educational and social inclusion is a real challenge. This stunning book appears at the right time: we need a new perspective to open our minds and develop our competences in order to achieve a new education for all. We need to promote knowledge and pedagogy, and ensure trust and hope. If you are looking for something like that, this is your book.′   

-- Álvaro Marchesi
...This handbook has been designed to address the complex and nuanced nature of special and inclusive education. By delineating how researchers have explored this complexity, this edition gives an insight into how future research might play a part in extending our understanding of the field. In my view, although this edition of The SAGE Handbook of Special Education is more expensive than other texts, it is well worth the investment; I cannot think of a more comprehensive critique of the field. -- Fiona Hallett, Faculty of Education, Edge Hill University