Special education in Spain at the beginning of the 21st century: the challenge to educate in an unequal and multicultural society

Abstract

An overview of the challenges facing the Spanish Special Education system at the turn of the century is presented. Significant changes have occurred in Spain over the last two decades that have affected the landscape of Spanish public schools in an unprecedented way. First, since the late 1980s, students with a variety of disabilities have been attending general education classrooms along with their peers. Additionally, for the last 20 years, Spain has experienced a dramatic increase in immigration patterns from Northern Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Thus, Spanish educators are facing the challenge of educating an increasingly heterogeneous student body. Students' different educational needs are often handed down to the special educator teacher who is faced with the task of ensuring the student's academic and social participation. Reform efforts conducted by Spanish educators to ensure that all students, regardless of their gender, ability level, ethnic and social backgrounds, as well as language and religion of origin, have equal access to a full social and academic participation in their schools and communities are described.