Education for Persons with Handicaps in Japan,the USA and Sweden

Abstract

This paper deals with educational provision for persons with handicaps and the trend toward educational integration. The cases of Japan, the USA and Sweden are considered and compared. While the development of treatment for persons with handicaps is not very different among these three countries, there are obvious differences in the implementation and acceptance of integration among them. Sweden seems to have adapted best to the philosophy of normalization and the process of integration, while in Japan, and to a lesser extent the USA, the debate and conflict that arose with their introduction and development was much more intense and remains heated even today.