Australian Special Education: Issues of the Eighties Directions for the Nineties

Abstract

In the last decade, the 1980s, we have witnessed the consolidation and maturing of Special Education, a far cry from the post-Karmel era which saw a frantic rush to expand Australian Special Education, particularly in the area of teacher preparation. It is an appropriate time to review some of the key topics and issues which have shaped Special Education in Australia in the last decade and it should be a useful exercise, on the basis of mat review, to make recommendations for the next decade.