Education Without Failure? Education For All?∗

∗Based on an Inaugural Lecture presented at the University of Queensland, September 10, 1986.

Abstract

The terms difficultyand disabilityreflect two major concerns in contemporary education. Can we ensure education without failure? Can education be provided for all? Research conducted with adults who are poor readers suggests that they view themselves as failures when often they were victims of educational practices which treated as misfits all children who experienced difficulties in school. Evidence has accumulated which shows that a flexible education system can accommodate almost all children and that difficulties are symptoms of a mismatch between student needs and educational provision. For many children categorized as disabled, these difficulties could be resolved by modifying their educational program. Where there is true disability, which results from biological impairment, the major aim should be to prevent disability from becoming a handicap. Technological advances can help modify the physical constraints imposed by impairment; of greater importance to today's children is the need for greater community awareness and acceptance of disability.

While parents and teachers have reservations concerning the increased integration of disabled children some activists are pressing for legislation similar to US PL 94‐142 to ensure that all children, regardless of disability level, are provided with education in the mainstream to the maximum feasible extent. To argue about the effectiveness of integration is to miss the point; both regular school and special education support services need to recognize the many changes essential to minimize failure and to encompass the reasonable developmental needs of all children. Presently, there is a great discrepancy between what is known about effective instruction and current educational practice; until this gap is narrowed, for children with difficulties and disabilities failure will remain all too common.

∗Based on an Inaugural Lecture presented at the University of Queensland, September 10, 1986.

Notes

∗Based on an Inaugural Lecture presented at the University of Queensland, September 10, 1986.