Inclusion is a complex concept that ranges from placing students in mainstream classrooms to changing entire educational systems. While inclusive education is often simplified as the place where students are educated, it is much more than just the mere placement. In inclusive classrooms, all students irrespective of diversities are welcomed and schools make adjustments to ensure that the needs of all students are met. Research has shown a positive impact of inclusive practices on all students including those who have additional needs (Artiles et al. 2006). There has been some debate that inclusion mandates across most countries are driven by policymakers, and researchers and the voices of parents/carers and students with disabilities and their siblings are not given due attention. The perspectives of those who are the actual recipients of inclusion policies and how they experience them should not be overlooked. In Norway, the basic principle of special education is that the student should be taught in mainstream schools (also referred to as inclusive schools), still 9% of students are educated in permanent special education units (NDET, 2023). The current project investigated the potential relationship between the type of placement of students with additional needs with the perception of students' well-being. In this context, relevant factors in measuring the quality of the inclusion climate in schools are students' social participation and acceptance among friends, happiness, and belonging in the school community (Schwab et al., 2018; Sharma et al., 2022). Objective The objective of this paper is to investigate parental reports about the well-being of students receiving special education in regular schools, special schools and special education groups. Method and preliminary findings Through an internet-based survey, we collected data about parental perspectives about inclusion [Parental Perception of Inclusion Climate Scale (Sharma et al., 2022)] and compared it between parents of children who were attending regular schools and special schools/groups as dichotomous independent variables. We used individual items and three sub-factor scores on the Parental scale (Sharma et al., 2022)] related as dependent variables. The findings of the study will be discussed with possible implications for the special and inclusive education sectors in Norway and other countries.

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