Barriers to Inclusive Education in Chinese Primary Schools

Book excerpt: In response to the growing international interest in inclusive education, this book examines its practices and issues in the Chinese context through case studies of two regular primary schools in mainland China where children with special needs are admitted. The main concerns of this book not only involve the inclusion of children with disabilities, but also those with special educational needs but without physical and sensory difficulties, such as children from socially and economically disadvantaged groups, children from diverse cultural and linguistic groups, and children alienated in classrooms. This book discusses these issues and challenges against the background of the existing educational system and policy, and identifies the barriers to their inclusion in current school education, such as lack of in-service training for teachers, limited involvement of local communities, big class size, and corporal punishment, etc. Academics and postgraduate students in the field of inclusive education, social education, and Chinese studies will find this book useful, as well as policy makers, school teachers, and administrators.