This paper is derived from a study which aimed to explore the most pertinent issues relating to the inclusion of students with disabilities and special educational needs in second-level mainstream schools in Ireland. The study was conductied through a multi-perspective approach by accessing the views of a wide range of stakeholders within the Irish education system and by conducting a multi-layered analysis of the system at classroom, school and national level. It was also informed by visits to other jurisdictions, namely England, Finland and the United States.  The theoretical frameworks which predominantly informed the study were Bronfenbrenner's (1979)Ecological Systems Theory and the Organisational Paradigm, with a focus on schools as systems and as learning organisations,  as they attempt to meet the needs of, and effectively include, students with disabilites and special educational needs. It applied the core elements of Systems Theory and the Organisational Paradigm to the attempted operationalisation of the inclusive ideal. It was an indepth study of the issues, policies and practices involved in inclusive educational provision for students with disabilities and special educaional needs in second-level education, using a multi-theoreticl approach, employing a combination of research methods, accessing a wide range of sources of information by way of interviews and questionnaires.  The study was informed by the psycho-social approach to disability, locating the causality of student difficulties in the interaction between the student and and the organisational characteristics of the learning environment.  The focus of the study was thus at the systemic, organisational level, concentrating on possible organisational deficits or institutional pathology, rather than individual pathology or student-related variables, while not ignoring the obvious relevance of individual student characteristics.  A core outcome of the study, which will be reported in this paper, was the development of a conceptual model of inclusion at school level, which provides an outline of the core characterisitics of an inclusive classroom, which must operate within an inclusive school,  and the identification of the main challenges involved in enhancing inclusiveness at both of these levels.  

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