Prior to 1980, terms such as education for all,diversity and inclusion did not form part of the special education language and engagement. In fact, the more popular the term inclusion became,the less there was a shared understanding of what it meant.Since then other terms such as citizenship, equal opportunity, quality education, social inclusion and social justice which were not part of the education landscape have crept into the vocabulary and literature as academics and policymakers engage with concepts such as special education, globalization, education for all and inclusion. Currently, when governments and world agencies want to achieve a desired outcome,they develop a ‘roadmap’ or detailed time-based plan which links the alignment of the goals with specific programmes and the allocation of resources. Together, these determine the course of action to be taken. The early calls for inclusion came from different groups and perspectives as a critique to existing and emerging issues in education. Firstly, parents, teachers and advocates of students with disabilities promoted inclusion as a way of challenging the restrictions to access and participation imposed by existing models of ‘mainstreaming’ or ‘integration’.Secondly, the development of social definitions of disability by disabled and non-disabled activists and theorists influenced the critique of the role of education, and special education in particular, in reproducing the exclusion and oppression of disabled people. Thirdly,inclusive education engaged in a critique of the education reform programs that have been taking place in a number of countries and which introduced market-driven arrangements in schools promoting specific notions of accountability, control, choice and diversity.Central to this discussion is the examination of how difference is managed within educational systems through the identification and labelling of individuals and groups and through the interrelated processes of inclusion and exclusion. Fourthly,inclusive education has been linked to development and in particular the provision of educational opportunities for all children within educational systems.The work of international organisations has been instrumental in constructing inclusion as an international aim. With such a varied history, we will discuss whether a roadmap for inclusion is possible or whether it is simply a dream that is touted by politicians and international agency officials to reflect some semblance of social justice and equity. We will also question whether the concept of ‘Education For All’ has become a mechanism which seeks to prepare the underdeveloped world and the poor to rise to the low skilled jobs of the modern occupational ladder.

We will consider the international, historical and social contexts of inclusive education and examine the early calls for inclusion from different groups, looking at their particular perspectives and consider the international, and social contexts of inclusive education policies and practices from the 1980s onward. Our discussion uses a range of methods which include documentary analysis of policy and theoretical perspectives as well as case studies from both the North and the South.

We currently live in an era where having a roadmap is hailed as a sure way to achieving success. There are currently multi-billion dollar bailout packages for floundering economies with banks, mortgage companies and various industries making the case that these are necessary to ensure that the various country economies survive. What then about education for all, inclusion, diversity, gender and equality of opportunities? In this presentation, we will examine the four critical interpretations of inclusion and explore whether there can be an actual roadmap for inclusion especially since there seems to be little two-way exchange between the countries of the South and the North.