The history of special education is often described as one of progressive inclusion. There are few regions of the world in which this distinction is more strongly exemplified than in Norway, where the ideal of the inclusive school was already formally and legally recognized in the 1980s. Subsequent changes in the educational system and policies in support of achieving this ideal continue to influence special education research and practice in the country. However, in a recent review of Norwegian special education literature, Solli (2005) concluded that as a whole, "we have little research-based knowledge of today's special education support system" (p. 108). Although research in this area has greatly expanded in recent years, studying inclusion and special education remains a challenge. The difficulty of the task is largely due to the multifaceted and evolving nature of these concepts. For this reason, the current project proceeded from the perspective that the micro-level is the point at which ideology and policy are most practically expressed and interpreted (Weatherley & Lipsky, 1977). The goal of this investigation is to reveal how newly trained Norwegian special educators define and interpret their profession, and examine these interpretations in light of historical and current social, cultural and political forces. It is argued that insight into special education from those newly "indoctrinated" to the profession can serve to help us understand the evolution of the field as a whole. Moreover, evidence indicates that of all resource factors in the school, teacher competence is the factor that most influences student achievement (Gustafsson, 2003). Given this assumption, we maintain that the perceptions and knowledge these special educators hold will ultimately affect the support that they provide.In Norway, multiple formal and informal systems exist for training and qualifying special educators. Thus, impressions of the field may be influenced by the different routes one takes to become a special educator. In order to elucidate this dilemma, 42 special educators pursuing substantially different courses of training at a university college in Norway were asked to participate. Preparation for the first group comprised a 3-year program focusing exclusively on special education coursework. The second group were completing a 4-year program in which 3 years focused on general teacher training and 1 year was devoted to special education. Participants were given a survey containing a series of open questions pertaining to their beliefs and skills, professional expectations, and interpretations of the field.Initial findings indicate that like inclusion, which has evolved from a basic emphasis on integration to a broad ideological construct; the discipline of special education is undergoing a similar transition. At one time the term special education referred to a specially trained teacher's use of teaching methods uniquely designed for pupils with disabilities. Now the field appears to encompass the support of a diverse range of individuals and conditions. In addition, there seems to be a duality in special educators' understanding of the discipline wherein they perceive it as being both a "profession" and a "philosophy". This transformation, it is predicted, is connected to the blurring of disciplinary boundaries between general and special education and, among other factors, the emphasis on adapted teaching for all children in Norwegian schools as a means of reaching the goal of inclusion.Gustafsson, J. E. (2003). What do we know about effects of school resources on educational results? Swedish Economic Policy Review, 10, 77 - 110. Solli, K. (2005). Kunnskapsstatus om spesialundervisningen i Norge. Mediahuset GAN: Utdanningsdirektoratet.Weatherley, R., & Lipsky, M. (1977). Street level bureaucrats and institutional innovation: implementing special educational reform. Harvard Educational Review, 47(2), 171-197.