Teacher Preparation
Special education services throughout North America have evolved over the last two decades. As people with disabilities are no longer routinely institutionalized, the conditions and characteristics of various disabilities and accompanying individual educational needs have gained both understanding and acceptance within the public and political environment. The following discussion will utilize statistics and policy based mostly on United States’ observations. However, it is our belief that concerns regarding inclusion of students with disabilities are not unique to this country (Hutchinson, 2006; Leblanc, Richardson, & Burns, 2009; Winzer, 2007). Therefore, we will use a perspective that should be interpreted from a North American lens, which has been informed by research, practice, and policy based mostly in the United States.