A Four Country Comparison: Special Education in the United States, China, India and Thailand

There are few systems of special education that are as comprehensive as the one in place in the United States. This paper compares the special education services available to students with disabilities in China, India and Thailand with the services for students with disabilities in the United States. The first part of the paper is a review of the literature on special education in the aforementioned countries. This is followed by a survey conducted in 1st through 5th grade classrooms in each country. Results show while the United States has by far the most uniform and comprehensive service, followed by Thailand with progressive services in their university demonstration schools. China and India, however, have little in place to assist struggling students in their highly populated classrooms.