No one size fits all: mainstreaming in the U.S. VS. mainstreaming in Uruguay.

Abstract

Abstract. The United States has become the source of new ideas about the public treatment of people with disabilities. Many countries are considering adopting policies modeled on those introduced in the United States. The idea of mainstreaming children with disabilities in schools -i.e., placing them in regular classrooms rather than providing them with special education facilities- has become widespread in the U.S. Given the transnational flow of ideas and the prestige the United States enjoys for its educational system and its treatment of citizens with disabilities, many other countries are considering following the U.S. lead. However, I argue that problems in implementing the policy and the negative consequences of mainstreaming children with disabilities in U.S. public schools would likely be aggravated if this policy was applied in less developed countries such as Uruguay, where the idea has reached the government and voices have been raised advocating the policy. In this case study, I analyze the challenges in and results of implementing the policy of mainstreaming in the United States, and then analyze likely outcomes in Uruguay, a country with fewer resources, a different culture and history, should it chose to follow the U.S. model.