Inclusive Education in China: Conceptualisation and Realisation

Instructions for students with special educational needs in Chinese mainstream classrooms: modifications and barriers

“…More service delivery options were advocated other than establishing additional special schools since they could not be built fast enough to accommodate so many students due to the lack of resources and expertise (Deng and Manset 2000;Deng and Poon-Mcbrayer 2004). Responding to the international trend of mainstreaming and the following inclusion, China initiated a national movement on inclusive education called ''Learning in Regular Classrooms'' (LRC) to meet the domestic need of expanding enrollment of students with SEN (Deng and Poon-Mcbrayer 2004).…”

“…Although Confucianism nurtured a sympathetic attitude and treatment toward disability for centuries, education for individuals with SEN had never been a governmental priority until recently, and the general public continues to see welfare provisions as the main responsibility of the society for these individuals (Deng and Poon-Mcbrayer 2004). The fundamental aspect of the social culture has not been changed drastically in China; thus, a favorable social atmosphere toward disability is far from complete.…”

“…A sympathetic social attitude toward disability had been carefully nurtured under the dominant Confucian philosophy which advocated harmonious order and humaneness in social relations (Deng and Poon-McBrayer 2004;Lin and Fan 1990). However, institutions for educating individuals with disabilities were not established by American and European missionaries until the late nineteenth century with the invasion of Western power, and the number of special schools and student enrollment did not display a much growth before 1980s.…”

“…However, mainstreaming and inclusion based on the Western liberal political system aims to provide students with SEN the opportunities for high-quality and appropriate education in the general classrooms of their neighborhood schools (Salend 1998), whereas the primary goal of LRC is to give most children with SEN in China the opportunity to go to school. Therefore, LRC programs are not to provide appropriate education to children with disabilities, but education in any possible forms, and the core values of inclusion such as equity and diversity have never been emphasized in LRC programs due to political and cultural differences (Deng and Poon-McBrayer 2004).…”

“…Responding to the international trend of mainstreaming and the following inclusion, China initiated a national movement on inclusive education called ''Learning in Regular Classrooms'' (LRC) to meet the domestic need of expanding enrollment of students with SEN (Deng and Poon-Mcbrayer 2004). A specific service model that provides the options of special schools, classes, and LRC, with LRC as the major strategy to serve students with SEN resulting from three basic disability types has been developed (State Council of China 1989; Ministry of Education of China 1994).…”