First published in 2005. The goal of Education For All, set by the United Nations at the 1990 Jomtien (Thailand) Conference and adopted by heads of state at the World Summit for Children in the same year, confronts all of us with the fundamental challenge of including children with disabilities in the education system of all nations. The aim of this book is to record, analyse and celebrate positive signs of growth and development in the field of special needs education but with particular reference to children with significant disabilities. The special education theme was selected for the 1993 edition of The World Yearbook of Education in synchrony with the ending of the UN Decade of Disabled Persons, 1983 to 1992.

Part 1: International perspectives 1. Childhood disability: a global challenge 2. Education of children with disabilities 3. Theories to explain the development of special education 4. Special education as a human and legal right Part 2: Meeting specific disability needs 5. Children with learning difficulties 6. Planning mainstream education services for children with visual impairments in developing countries 7. Deaf people in the developing world Part 3: Regional reports and national case studies 8a. Western Europe Patrick Daunt 8b. The 'new democracies' of Central and Eastern Europe 9. Education of youths with disabilities in the United States of America 10. Special education in A11. Special education in Australia and New Zealand 12. Special education in Ibero-American countries: current situation and tendencies 13. Special education in Africa Part 4: Transitions 14. Early childhood special education: an international perspective 15. The transition to employment of disabled people: work by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Part 5: Current issues 16. Community-based rehabilitation 17. Special education in developing countries: instructional content and process 18. Varieties of school integration 19. Teacher development and special needs: some lessons from the U NESCO project, 'Special Needs in the Classroom' Mel Ainscow 20. The future of special education: who will pay the bill?