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In the United States, students with disabilities have moved from learning in a segregated environment to being included in the general education classroom. Legislative mandates have encouraged this shift to occur in public schools in order to equal the playing field for students with disabilities. Both general and special education students with learning disabilities (LD) have been affected from inclusion. This chapter describes the legal, historical, psychological, and instructional concepts shaping the way students with LD are educated today.

This chapter highlights the importance of providing all children, and particularly those at risk, vulnerable children and children with disabilities, with opportunities for a quality inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). It first sets out the evidence that quality inclusive ECEC provision is essential for all children to develop their potential and lifelong learning competencies that will ensure their successful participation in school and adult life. It then describes the main international and European policies for inclusive ECEC. A more detailed account is given of the five key principles for action towards improving the quality of ECEC provision developed by the thematic working group of the European Commission (2014) ‘Quality Framework for Early Education and Care’ that are also very similar to those proposed by the OECD (2015) ‘Starting Strong IV’. The concluding section underlines the need to address more strongly the provision of enabling opportunities for accessibility to ECEC of children at risk of exclusion. More importantly, it highlights the need to research and improve not only these children’s presence in ECEC but also their level and quality of active participation and engagement in the social and learning activities of early childhood inclusive provision. The chapter reflects the research and policy development work being undertaken by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education in its (2015–2017) project on Inclusive Early Childhood Education (IECE) led by the present authors.