Teacher educators face the challenge of preparing student teachers for teaching in schools with increasingly diverse populations. It has been suggested that more integrated programmes replace the rigid separation between general and special education courses and that teacher training should challenge the medical or clinical-rehabilitative approach that has predominated special education. This paper builds on research reported at EERA 2004 that documented provision for Special Educational Needs (SEN) within Initial Teacher Education in Ireland and involved a comparative overview of education policy, school provision and special needs education in initial teacher education. This paper analyses the existing models for addressing special educational needs in initial teacher education in Ireland and poses critical questions including: how do we as teacher educators (a) conceptualise special educational needs and the knowledge required by student teachers? (b) ensure institutional accountability for the ownership and delivery of special educational needs? (c) enable student teachers to apply knowledge around special educational needs in schools? (d) develop collaborative models that can be used in team building in schools? (e) establish links between research in special education needs and the issues encountered by school practitioners? Teacher educators need to address these crucial issues and enable student teachers to develop an informed perspective on responding to children who have special educational needs within an inclusive environment.