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Reexamination of Inclusive Education – Its Dynamics, Challenges, and Complexities: Implications from an Empirical Study from Bhutan and Japan

Inclusive education (IE) comes to the fore when international development frameworks such as the Education for All (EFA) movement (1990), and, in particular, the Salamanca Statement (1994) are considered. The Statement portrays “mainstreaming” children with disabilities as an integral part of national education plans and asserts that establishing regular schools with inclusive orientation is the most effective means to combat discriminatory attitudes (UNESCO & Ministry of Education and Science, Spain, 1994). This wave has crested worldwide, and Bhutan and Japan are not exceptions. The overall objective of this study is to reexamine socio-cultural dimensions of “IE” by explicating voices on the ground. This chapter describes how IE has been promulgated in the two countries while forming culturally, socially, and locally fitted policies, and documents the dynamics, challenges, and complexities of IE. The results indicate that while both countries followed similar dynamics in the development of IE policies, progressing from “segregation” to “integration” before reaching “inclusion,” different implementation processes have led to divergent forms of IE, and thus the two nations exhibit heterogeneity in their interpretations of IE. Reflecting the voices of local teachers on the ground, the study illustrates the importance of encompassing societal contexts vis-a-vis exploring global issues such as IE.