Marching towards Inclusive Education: Are we Prepared for Inclusive Science Education?

The paper reports the historical background of inclusion in education and the status of inclusion in education in India. The article concludes that in spite of several efforts by the Government and other educational agencies in India, the dream of inclusive education for all students with differential abilities-disabilities or belonging to any social or cultural group remains unfulfilled. When focusing on science education, one finds that there is a lack of data on status of students from different marginalised backgrounds in science education, yet from the little data found it is evident that science education is not inclusive. The possible reasons seem to be: lack of positive attitude towards inclusion, lack of institutionalisation of strategies which have been made by isolated educators to make science inclusive, lack of use of adaptive technologies and low expectations in science from students with disabilities.