Students With Special Educational Needs in Inclusive Classrooms in Spain 15 Years After Salamanca

• In Event: Cross-National Studies in Meeting Challenges and Opportunities to Learn

Abstract

In 1982 PL 13/1982 paved the way for students with disabilities (3-18 years old) to be educated whenever possible with students without disabilities in Spain. Subsequent laws (PL 1/1990 and PL 10/2002) as well as international initiatives (e.g., Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education) continued this mandate. UNESCO initiatives and these pieces of legislation together have resulted in the current programming model of full inclusion in Spain. This paper focuses on (1) identifying specific trends in school enrollment fifteen years after the Salamanca Statement, and (2) analyzing how the characteristics of regular and special education have evolved over this period of time. Specific conditions under which inclusion is currently being developed in this country are discussed.

Authors

• Maria Cristina Cardona, University of Alicante

• Esther Chiner-Sanz, University of Alicante

• Cristina Miralles, University of Wisconsin - Madison