Barriers to Inclusion: Special Education in the United States and Germany

by Justin J. W. Powell

Overview

Barriers to Inclusion offers a comparative and historical account of the rise of special education over the twentieth century in the United States and Germany. This institutional analysis demonstrates how categorical boundaries, professional groups, social movements, and education and social policies shaped the schooling of children and youth with disabilities. It traces the evolution of special education classification, explores growing special education organizations, and examines students' learning opportunities and educational attainments. Highlighting cross-national differences over time, the author also investigates demographic and geographic variability within the federal democracies, especially in segregation and inclusion rates of disabled and disadvantaged children. Germany's elaborate system of segregated special school types contrasts with diverse American special education classrooms mainly within regular schools. Joining historical case studies with empirical indicators, this book reveals persistent barriers to school integration as well as factors that facilitate inclusive education reform in both societies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594512087
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/30/2011
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Justin J.W. Powell has been a Research Fellow of Berlin’s Max Planck Institute for Human Development since 2000. As of Fall 2005, he will be Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Goettingen.

Table of Contents

1. Special Education and Student Disability Over the Twentieth Century

2. Comparing Special Educational Systems

3. Compulsory Schooling for All Children: Learning Opportunities in Special Classes and Special Schools

4. Classifying Student Dis/Abilities and Dis/Advantages

5. The Development of Special Education in the United States

6. The Development of Special Education in Germany

7. Special Education in the United States and Germany Compared

8. The Expansion and Divergence of Special Education Systems

What People are Saying About This

John W. Meyer

"This book compares German special education, hyper-organized but segregatory, with chaotic but more inclusionary American arrangements. It creatively explains the different national trajectories in terms of political, professional, cultural, and organizational arrangements. It will be of great interest to those concerned with special education, but also to sociologists of education, and students of comparative education more generally."--(John W. Meyer, Stanford University)

Catherine Kudlick

"Offering an astute comparison of special education systems in the United States and Germany, Barriers to Inclusion provides invaluable tools for understanding what educators on both sides of the Atlantic take for granted."--(Catherine Kudlick, University of California, Davis )

Editorial Reviews

This is a comparative historical analysis of the development of special education systems in Germany and the United States over the course of the 20th century. It examines cross-national differences in special education institutions and classifications and addresses demographic and geographic variability within each country, especially in segregation and inclusion rates of disabled and disadvantaged children.” —Eithne O’Leyne, June 2011 Reference and Research Book News

"This dynamic and multifaceted study is well written and carefully argued. Powell develops his argument and then supports it through detailed examinations of the history of special education in each country." —Comparative Education Review, February 2012

From the Publisher