A Cross-Cultural, Historical Analysis of Political Efforts in the USA and the Republic of Korea for People with Disabilities' Right to an Equal Education Focused Around the Evolution of Special Education Policy in the 1970's

Abstract

This interdisciplinary dissertation draws on scholarship in the different fields of Educational Foundations, Special Education Policy and History, Comparative and International Education, and Korean History and Politics to discover the historical and cultural significance upon the passage of the first special education laws in the United States and South Korea in the 1970’s. Special education policy was initiated as influenced by cultural and historical events that impacted upon legal and political efforts to ensure an equal educational opportunity for children with disabilities in the two countries. Historical and cultural variables led to a unique approach to addressing the FAPE in each special education law. My dissertation thus intends to identify how the different historical and cultural values influenced on the development of each special education policy and the FAPE languages in IDEA and APEH. Although my dissertation has limitations in that I have focused on the events and people who lived several decades ago, as such, have not directly suggested a new model for the current policy, my dissertation will broaden the field of special education policy and the exploring of historical and cultural significance in implementing policy in different countries.