This book discusses some of the core philosophical concepts in special education and provides an in-depth look at future possibilities. Will the field function much as it does today or make coherent changes? How will the heated debates about full inclusion, labeling, and definitions of disabilities play out? How will the research on instructional practices and teacher preparation generate changes? "Challenging Orthodoxy in Special Education" will be of considerable interest to professionals and students in special education, disability studies, educational administration, curriculum, and policy studies. The expert authors offer perspectives on the problems facing special education and some of the possible solutions. They bring together the latest thinking in the philosophy of science, sociology, disability studies, and disciplines outside of special education. The audience for this book includes graduate students and teacher educators involved with graduate seminars centered on critical issues in education. The book helps readers to better understand the inclusion debates. It provides educators with tools to grasp the issues in special education for a more inclusive, equitable, and democratic education for all students. It blends engaging new ideas from experts in the field to understand the present and shape the future of special education. It also examines a constructivist perspective and the confusion between discovery and construction.