Editorial: the Salamanca Statement: 25 years on

Abstract

June 2019 saw the 25th anniversary of the World Conference on Special Needs Education, which was co-organized by UNESCO and the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain, and held in the city of Salamanca. It led to the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education, arguably the most significant international document that has ever appeared in the field of special education. In so doing, it endorsed the idea of inclusive education, which was to become a major influence in subsequent years. The articles in this special issue illustrate the ways in which the Salamanca Statement has and still is influencing the development of policies and practices across the world. In this editorial, we provide readers with some relevant background to these developments.