Meeting the Needs of Students with Disabilities in General Education Classrooms in China

Abstract

China has initiated experiments on “Learning in Regular Classrooms” (LRC) since the mid-1980s in response to the international trend of inclusive education and the domestic need of serving large numbers of children with disabilities. LRC is the main strategy to promote compulsory education for youngsters with disabilities. Despite the fact that LRC has been practiced for 20 years and the enrollment of children with disabilities is increasing each year, high instructional quality for students with disabilities who are learning in the general education classrooms has not yet been achieved. This is largely due to the shortage of trained teachers and resources. The authors advocate that a more systematic teacher training system in China be developed to address diverse learning needs in general classrooms and domestic and international efforts be made to transform the education system from the current rigidity toward a more flexible structure.