Directions for Integration in Australia: Overview of a Report to the Commonwealth Schools Commission. Part II.

Abstract

Drawing upon information from a national survey, this paper examines the extent to which integration is being achieved for children with disabilities in Australian schools. Technical and organizational issues leading to identification of major barriers to integration together with possible strategies to overcome these are discussed. A need for policy‐oriented research in this field is identified, particularly the provision of accurate prevalence figures and other data to help monitor the impact of policy. Overall, there is evidence of a national movement towards integration but typically this is occurring within a context of inadequate policy formulation, organizational development and resource provision.