In Pursuit of Excellence: The Past as Prologue to a Brighter Future for Special Education

Any attempt to speculate about the future is likely to be hindered by an imprecise and inadequate understanding of the past, and predicting the future of special education is no exception. Nonetheless, various authors have undertaken that challenge and have done so by examining critically the relatively turbulent, albeit brief history of the field. In most instances they have relied on strategies based on social psychological theory Though by no means perfect, this approach represents a relatively reliable way to plot a future course of action with regard to both special education policy and practice.