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Exceptional Education: History
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Exceptional education is the specialized provision of instruction, supports, and services for learners whose educational needs differ significantly from typical age-level expectations due to disabilities, developmental differences, or high abilities/giftedness [1][2][3]. It is designed to ensure appropriate access, participation, and progress through individualized or differentiated educational planning, adapted pedagogy, and related services [1]. Exceptional education is characterized by formal identification procedures, legally or policy-defined eligibility frameworks, individualized learning goals, and ongoing monitoring of learner progress in inclusive or specialized settings [2][3]. In policy and professional practice, the term denotes an educational domain focused on meeting exceptional learning needs through structured support systems, rather than general instruction without targeted adaptation [1][2][3].

  • exceptional education
  • special education
  • gifted education
  • individualized support

References

  1. Hallahan, D. P.; Kauffman, J. M.; Pullen, P. C. Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education, 14th ed.; Pearson: New York, 2019. https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=2906842.
  2. UNESCO. Global Education Monitoring Report 2020: Inclusion and Education—All Means All; UNESCO: Paris, 2020. Available online: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373718.
  3. Michelle Ronksley-Pavia; Catherine Clark; Compounded Disadvantage: Issues in Addressing the Educational Requirements of Twice-Exceptional Students in Schools. Educ. Sci. 2025, 15, 1593, 10.3390/educsci15121593.
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